Outbreak
by fnckingawesome
Summary: Action, OC Characters, Lesbian Love Triangles, and Zombies-Oh my!
1. Chapter I  Initial Outbreak

A story a friend and I are working on. Decided to share it on the web and see what kind of feedback we get.

Characters  
><strong>Amika Reegan<strong>  
>Age: 20<br>Height: 5'7"  
>Ref: Mayra Munoz<p>

**Aubrey Cabral**  
>Age: 18<br>Height: 5'  
>Ref: Adriana Lima<p>

Characters belong to us, everything else is copyright to Valve

Chapter I – Initial Outbreak

Two weeks after first infection...

_'What the fuck?'_

Three words that resounded through Amika's head ever since her first viewing of a Green Flu news broadcast. Even when intently focused on scoping out a safe house, listening to her surroundings and watching for any movement in the background. They repeated over and over faintly in the dark corners of her mind. Her black skater shoes carefully maneuvered around the broken glass.

"You see anything over there?.. It's been awhile since we've run into a group of those things." Amika spoke quietly but loud enough for her teammate to hear her. They had run into each other a couple days after Amika had escaped the hospital and lost Sebastien. The other girl was weary of her at first but they weren't given much time until a horde of infected began to surround them. That was about a week ago and they were still in the city's core.

Her shot gun was splattered with blood that glistened in the flickering light coming from a lamp post. She had picked it off of a dead police officer and found a box of rounds for it at a gun shop. There wasn't much that she could grab, most of the shops in the city were broken into and confiscated of useful items. Amika had a pack of medication and some snacks, but those were beginning to run low. They needed to find a Walgreens or CVS soon. It seemed that the duo were immune to the Green Flu. They had been scratched, grabbed by tongues, pounced on, and vomited on. It had been two weeks and it seemed that none of the fluids or attacks seemed to affect them or turn them in any way. Amika looked over to the pretty girl in close quarters to her when a flock of howls erupted through the air.

Aubrey surveyed the carnage around her with disgust. She desperately longed for a good bubble bath and a manicure, but she doubted that would happen anytime soon. "Stupid zombies," she glared angrily at the approaching mob. She had a nice life back at the mansion, why'd they have to go and ruin it? She pulled her pistol up and took aim at the nearest zombie, then quickly surveyed her surroundings. She saw a ladder behind her leading to a rooftop.

"Maybe we can spot a store from up here," Aubrey shouted to the other girl. She fired her gun at the two approaching zombies and then turned to climb up; only she realized it was a fire escape and she was too short to reach. "A little help?" she called, as she turned to see a dozen zombies and one of those fat bulimic bastards round the corner of the nearest building.

"Shit!" Amika blasted a few of the closer zombies as she started to walk backwards. Amika heard the familiar sound of gurgling and smelt the stench of acidic puke. She slung her shotgun behind her quickly and grabbed the petite girl by her waist to lift her with ease. Once Aubrey's fingers were wrapped around the rungs of the ladder Amika's hands came around her gun once more. Amika killed half a dozen before she ran up to the big guy and shoved him with her shot gun. The fat infected stumbled back and gave Amika enough time to run back to the ladder and shoot him. The bile in his stomach exploded all around the zombies and they began to attack each other.

"Fuck this." Amika muttered and with her running start she leapt up onto the ladder and pulled herself up. She was extremely thankful for her training and gym sessions in her routine life. She was physically fit for the zombie apocalypse. She knew Aubrey would never admit it but Amika felt she was somewhat thankful as well. It had gotten them out of several messes in the past, excluding the previous ten seconds.

"Took you long enough!" Aubrey muttered, brushing the dirt off her designer jeans as she eyed Amika. She knew she should be thankful, that she would probably be dead if it wasn't for her kick-ass partner, but she had never said anything nice and actually meant it. She sure didn't plan on starting now.

"Whew.." Amika sighed as she sat on the ledge of the building to peer down on the flailing mess, "you see anything out there?"

Her light brown eyes averted to Aubrey and she started to shuffle forward while reloading her shot gun. Aubrey turned and walked to the edge of the building, surveying the depressing town around her. There were dead people everywhere, some the walking dead. It was hard to keep her eyes on anything else. She forced herself to look away. The city was starting to grow dark as the sun began to set, and she knew they had to find shelter soon. She could see the highway a couple blocks away, oddly quiet for this time of day. It was an eerie reminder that world she had once known was now gone.

"There!" she pointed, spotting the building they had been looking for, "It's just on the other side of the highway." The power was still on in some places, and Aubrey could make out the glowing lights of the CVS sign just on the other side. "We'd better hurry before the sun sets completely." She checked her pistol, trying to determine how many shots she had left. She had dropped her Versace bag somewhere along the way, and lost all the supplies that she'd had. She still had some rounds that she'd tucked into her pants pockets, but that left about twenty shots at most. Then she'd be left to pistol whipping. She hoped to find another weapon along the way.

A loud snarling noise lit up the night; one that drove fear into Aubrey's short frame. The zombies hadn't figured how to get up the fire escape, but all the hooded infected had to do was jump. "I'm getting out of here!"

Amika tensed and cocked her shot gun at the sudden presence. The low rumble of a growl coming from its tattered windpipe sent chills up and down her spine. Aubrey's reaction was expected but Amika mentally cursed at the girl. She gave away their position to the strong legged infected!

Aubrey saw a ladder that had been propped over two buildings as a kind of bridge, and figured that was the best bet. She raced across, careful not to fall. The roof entrance was open, but she sure as hell wasn't going down the shadowy stairway by herself. She turned to see if Amika was following behind her, but didn't see her. "Amika!" she yelled. Then she heard the growl.

"Just checking over here! Shut up or you'll alert more-"

"AHHHH!" she screamed as two glowing eyes emerged from the darkness. She was frozen in fear.

"Grrrr..." came the terrifying growl from the darkness. Aubrey braced herself, expecting the frog-like infected, but to even greater dismay, a little fluffy lap dog emerged from the shadows. Aubrey had a phobia of small animals. Aubrey's eyes grew wide and she screamed louder.

"Get away from me!" she cried trying to run away, but the dog kept following her, snapping at her ankles. "Amika! Where are you?!"

"You've got to be kidding me..." Amika rolled her eyes before running across the bridge nimbly. She eyed the dog despairingly as it continued to nip at the younger girl. It was only a matter of seconds before the white fluff exploded into a pile of mush. Aubrey sighed in relief as the stinking mutt was obliterated, only to be repulsed by the guts and blood that splattered round her feet.

"Happy now?- Guh- Ahhhh! He-heelp!" Amika felt her arms tighten around her torso involuntarily and her shot gun clattered against the cold cement as she was abruptly whisked away. She struggled against the slimy tongue that had wrapped around her slender body. The special infected that was reeling her in was situated on the building to the far left. It was only a matter of seconds before Amika would be dangling in the middle of the air like bait.

"Oh, eww," she looked disgustedly at Amika. "Why'd you go and do that? Gross. Oh!" Aubrey's eyes widened from disgust to shock as she realized the Smoker had targeted Amika.

Aubrey waged a quick debate in her mind. Should she let Amika distract the mob as she ran for safety? She didn't have much for ammo though and however badly she disliked admitting it, she really needed Amika. The only thing she was good at was flirting and looking pretty, and that was not much of a defense against blood thirsty zombies. If anything, it only made her look more appetizing.

"Damn, hold on," she replied, her eyes following the path of the tongue until she spotted the clouds of smoke on the next building. Amika was almost over the edge; Aubrey would have only one shot at getting him before Amika was pulled over. She lifted her pistol and quickly took aim. She closed her eyes as her finger pulled at the trigger. "Did I get it? Amika?"

Aubrey looked up only to see a giant cloud of smoke. "AMIKA!?" Aubrey started to cough as she waded through the smoke, her foot suddenly making contact with something long and solid. "Oh!" she stumbled and then fell. As the smoke cleared, she saw that it was Amika she had stumbled over. "Thank god," she sighed in relief.

Amika immediately stood up and tore the limp tongue from her body. She rubbed her sides gently to soothe them of the throbbing pain that was beginning to take over. She was certain she just obtained some new bruises. She panted quietly and was trying to catch her breath. That was way too close for her comfort level. She looked down at Aubrey who had tripped over her and shook her head slightly with wide eyes. Just two moments ago the bimbo was thrashing about and screaming like a banshee at a young poodle but just now the younger girl had saved her life.

"... Thanks." Amika bent over slightly and offered a stretched out hand with one of her of half smirks. She wasn't completely certain that her help would be accepted but it was worth a shot.

"Whatever," Aubrey shrugged in response, taking Amika's hand without any thought. She was used to people doing things for her. She then raised her eyebrow at the slender girl's panting.

"You sound like Stephan every time he pulls his wallet out of his pants," she laughed at her own joke, "The man was loaded," she explained to Amika. "He once made a bath for me in fifties. I wouldn't recommend it though; all that paper makes your skin dry." She waved her hand to dismiss the memory as she began walking towards the rooftop entrance she'd spotted.

Amika's interest was piqued at the tid bit of information given to her and she gave Aubrey a once over as she walked away. Was this girl serious? Oh, if only they had met before the Green Flu plagued all of the cities and threatened humanity. The other girl seemed to only like money for some reason, she gathered from her other stories, and Amika wanted to explore the topic a bit more but a later time would have to suffice.

"Anyway, are you ready? We can head down the stairwell over here," her green eyes sparkled like emeralds as she eyed her companion impatiently, then glanced at the dark corridor, wishing she had a flashlight. She tried to calm her nagging fear. She felt she was in a perpetual state of fear these days. "Pussies first," she turned to Amika as she gestured for her to enter.

"Ha ha," Amika laughed sarcastically, "You afraid a legion of Pomeranian puppies are down there?"

Amika bent down to pick up her weapon and made her way past Aubrey. She stood at the top of the steps and stared into the black hole that was about to swallow them up. An eerily serious expression came upon her pretty face wondering if this was such a good idea. They didn't really have a choice and who knew if another Smoker was lurking about. Eventually they would run out of bullets. Amika glanced back at Aubrey, a small reassuring smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"Stay close in case of Smokers and Boomers. You can hold my hand if you want." Amika offered teasingly. She faced forward again and slowly went down the stairs, disappearing into the blackness. If she were an animal her ears would be standing at attention as she listened for any type of inhuman sounds. She couldn't see anything. Her eyes were slowly adjusting to the lack of light but she still couldn't make out shapes or any type of detail.

"Get real," Aubrey rolled her eyes at the holding hands comment. She swept her long, silky black hair out of her face and forced herself to calm down as she watched Amika disappear into the darkness. "Hey wait up, I can't see you," she rushed to follow Amika down the narrow stairwell.

Aubrey realized almost at once that this had been a terrible idea; the darkness was overwhelming. She had hoped there would be windows shedding some light, but as they neared the bottom of the stairs, the darkness seemed to roll on endlessly. She stopped to listen for any sound of danger, but the only sound she heard was the sound of Amika's footsteps echoing far ahead. Aubrey rushed to catch up, her arms stretching to either side in an effort to keep her balance in the darkness. Suddenly she felt herself collide into Amika's back. She grabbed the back of the girl's shirt, trying not to fall.

"Go a little slower would ya? You almost lost me! Jeez, what is your shirt made of? Did you roll in something, it's all... slimy..." The smell of rotted flesh hit her nostrils and a responding snarl had Aubrey's heart leaping into her throat. "Oh my god, oh my god," Aubrey began to panic. It was not Amika she had run into, but a zombie!

"You seriously scared over there?" Amika asked over her shoulder while trying to figure out how long the hallway was. Aubrey had never been this quiet in the week that they were together and even in the midst of darkness she figured that Aubrey would still be babbling about that dog. After she lost her Versace bag Amika was about to shoot her point blank because she would not stop talking about it. As if she lost an appendage.

"You can still hold my hand if you want.." Amika needed some type of response from the girl. The silence was deafening and it was making the whole experience drag on.

Aubrey quickly raised her pistol, hoping the zombie had just as hard a time seeing as she did. She held onto its shirt as it struggled against her and pressed the gun into its back; she was assuming it was its back seeing as it hadn't bitten her yet. She fired at what she thought was its head but she must have missed because it kept flailing against her, trying to turn around. "Ew, you are so gross! Hold still so I can fucking shoot you damn it!" She fired off about four more shots until the zombie was finally still, and she let the dead weight fall to the floor.

"Aubrey?" Amika turned and swung her arm out behind her. When her forearm didn't connect with Aubrey's head she started to dash in the direction of the shots. "Fuck, those shots will definitely lure more of those things here."

It was at that moment Aubrey heard a distinct crying to her far left. "Amika?" she called, adrenaline still pumping from the encounter as she began to follow the sound. Her hand met a door and she pushed it open. "Amika?" The crying was getting louder. _Poor girl probably thinks I'm dead. Who wouldn't be in tears over that?_

She walked into the small room. Faint light trickled in between boarded windows, illuminating a slender figure huddled on the floor. "Amika, stop being such a baby. I'm right here. Did you really think one stupid zombie would get the best of me?" As she spoke the figure began to rise. "Well, aren't you going to say anything?" she asked as it turned to face her. As it moved, she could see its face in the light. And it was definitely not Amika.

"Fuck! Why does this keep happening?" Aubrey raised her gun as the thing began to run towards her with a scream that sounded worse than two cats mating. However the zombie was rather small with the body of a child and she figured she could handle it. She fired the pistol, missing horribly. It raised its arms, and Aubrey gasped as she saw fingers as sharp and long as steak knives. She quickly changed her strategy.

"Mother fuck-!" Amika ran into another wall as she tried to find her lost teammate. Amika had opened a few doors and called Aubrey's name into the room. When she was met with more silence she quickly closed the door and scouted for a new one. Amika heard a shriek of some kind close to where she was and she kept moving along. Aubrey had to be on the same floor as her. If only there was some way she knew that the screeching was Aubrey's doing or not...

"AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Aubrey screamed as loudly as humanly possible, hoping Amika could follow the sound of her voice as she ran from the room, slamming the door behind her. However, now in the darkness, she had no idea where to run. She could only watch in horror as light began to filter through the door as the thing began to quickly shred its way through with its freakish hands.

Once Aubrey's trademark scream was heard Amika was able to finally pinpoint her. The younger girl wasn't that far, but Amika was sure that more infected would be on their way thanks to the screech set off by Aubrey. The pain in the taller girls ribs subsided as adrenaline kicked into her system.

"Aubrey!" Amika called out as soon as she saw her with the bits of light dancing around her petite shaking frame. The screeching continued from the other side of the door and it looked like daggers were slicing through it. "The fuck?!"

"I heard this crying and I thought maybe it was you so I opened the door but then there was this girl-child-_freak. _I mean look at those things! It's like Edward Scissorhands long lost twin," Aubrey gripped her pistol tightly, nervous but glad that Amika was now here. She would know what to do.

Amika was quick to act and she rushed up to the door, being careful to stay a few feet away. The infected girl was almost through the thick wooden door when Amika used the butt of her shotgun and slammed it in between the eyes of the freakish infected. Amika quickly twirled her gun around and shot all of her bullets close to her head. With each blast from her shotgun she took a step forward until her upper body was poking through the middle of the door.

The infected little girl lay on the ground still. A supernatural sight to see. Blood was splattered all around the room, Amika was sure most of it was from some poor sap who tried to get close to it like Aubrey. Amika could make out more details of the infected with the small beams of light. Razor sharp nails, frayed clothes, and long stringy hair.

Aubrey surveyed the scene with disgust and awe, momentarily speechless. She didn't think she would ever get used to such violence, even if it was now an everyday part of her life. Amika took a deep breath before dropping to one knee from the sharp pain returning to her constricted sides.

"I told you to stay close." Amika tried to snap through her wheezing. She turned her head to glare at Aubrey, irritation oozing from her tone.

"And what am I some child?" Aubrey's admiration quickly turned to annoyance, "If you wanted to stay close to me you should not have gone gallivanting ahead. Where were you when I was fighting off that zombie? You are a frustrating person Amika. Now stop panting like some animal and get us out of here!"

Amika had had it. She was in pain, just saved this girls life _again_, and now the plan was back on her to save their lives. This girl was getting under her skin. It could've been the extremity of the situations they had gotten in but Amika snapped just as a group of infected made their presence known. Amika grunted as she stood and she was on Aubrey like a flash. She grabbed her by the throat and shoved her against the wall.

"Listen. The only reason we're alive right now is because of me. I know you're running low on ammo and won't last much longer. If you want to live shut the fuck up and help me think of a plan." Amika let her go and turned her attention to the approaching zombies. Aubrey rubbed her bruising throat and scowled angrily at Amika. With the horde coming, she would have to restrain her anger for now. But boy, she would make Amika pay for it later.

"I have to reload. Shoot them!" Amika hurriedly began to fill her shotgun. They had to think quickly. Maybe the light filtering in was a good sign. With the hallway filling up with infected they had to get out of there soon.

"I only have ten fucking bullets!" Aubrey shouted back, her voice now hoarse, as she took careful aim. They were moving so quickly it was hard to target any of them. She fired a couple random shots, killing one and maiming another. There were simply too many. They would be swarmed in a matter of seconds if they didn't act fast.

"In the room! Maybe there's a way out!" Amika called over the screaming zombies.

"Fine," Aubrey muttered, "Let's go back into the room where the crazy witch-zombie tried to murder me, the room full of blood. The one that no longer has a door. _Great _idea." But she followed Amika in, desperately surveying the room for an escape route.

"This room didn't work for that fuckin' bitch of a zombie, so hopefully it doesn't work for them either!" Amika shouted as she slammed what was left of the wooden door shut and continued to strategically place her shots towards the rising horde.

_If only I could see! _Aubrey rushed to the windows, realizing not all of the boards were nailed down. Some had just been set to lean against the windows haphazardly. _Someone must have put these up in a hurry, _she thought, shoving the nearest one out of the way.

"Amika!" she cried, as her eyes watered in the sudden light. The rich pink and purple rays from the waning sunset outlined her seductive figure as she turned to look at her companion, "I have a plan."

She covered her eyes as she shattered the window with the butt of her gun. Glass glittered like diamonds as it fell to the ground around her. She kicked the remaining shards out of the window frame and turned to Amika. "Hope you're not afraid of heights, Lieutenant. We're going to have to jump. See you on the other side."

Aubrey took several steps back and closed her eyes. If it wasn't for the adrenaline and fear of being eaten alive, she would never have had the courage to do what she was about to try. The zombies were now starting to pour into the room. Now was as good a time as ever. She took a deep breath and began to sprint. Panic shook through her as the edge neared, but she was running too fast and the edge was too close to stop now. At the last possible second, she jumped.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" she screamed as she felt herself suddenly weightless, flying through the air. _I feel like Superman... like Spider-man... like Wonder Woman... like- _WHAM! She hit the other building. Just short of the roof, she barely managed to grab onto the ledge with her hands before she would have plummeted the last four stories to the ground. "Fuck!" she moaned, "Amiiiiiiiiika!"

Amika heard that she had an idea but didn't entirely believe it until she witnessed the girl leaping out of a window in her peripherals. She used up the rest of her shotgun rounds before propelling herself towards the broken window. With her built up strength she ran and ran then pushed against the edge of the window sill. She closed her eyes as she rose in the air but when gravity took it's toll she opened them. Since she was stronger than Aubrey she actually made it. She rolled a few feet then heard her name yelled. Amika was quick to throw herself towards the ledge of the building and grasped Aubrey's hand. She brought her other hand around and wrapped her fingers around her palms to pull her up from her cliffhanger.

"I know you're going to slap me.. again. I kind of deserve it for grabbing you like that." Amika admitted once Aubrey had her feet on solid ground.

"Yes, you do deserve it. But I guess you just saved my life, so we'll call it even," Aubrey massaged her cramping biceps and gazed wearily at Amika, "Anyway, my arms are too tired from hanging on that ledge." she sighed. "Let's just hurry up and get out of here."

Amika nodded and didn't want to waste anytime in getting to that CVS. Her sides were an extreme concern and she could feel her legs shaking from exhaustion. She could barely breathe let alone run away from zombies while firing off a shotgun with a noticeable recoil. She knew Aubrey wouldn't give a flying fuck about her injuries and decided to stay quiet about them for now.

Amika lead them back down onto the street level. She peered around the corner and was surprised to find the street remarkably bare. Aubrey's scream must have lured them into that building. _'If only she could throw her voice.'_

Amika looked back at Aubrey and watched her for a moment. The visualization of it flashed across her mind's eye and she chuckled at the thought. She turned her attention back to the streets and gestured for Aubrey to follow her. Amika raised her gun into an offensive position but she winced and lowered it. There was no way she could continue this without draining her energy levels into oblivion. She stopped and turned around to look at Aubrey before holding her gun out.

"That tongue guy fucked up my ribs pretty badly. I think I might've bruised 'em or something. You use this and lead us towards that CVS. I don't really remember where you saw it and the infected are surrounding the building we just left, so if we're going to make a mad dash for it then now is our chance." Amika instructed the young girl, hoping she would just take the gun and walk on.

Aubrey eyed the weapon somewhat suspiciously. _She probably ran out of ammo too...although... _Aubrey gazed at Amika. When Aubrey had first met Amika, she had seemed strikingly attractive with a vibrant energy to her. Amika now looked like she had been beaten with an ugly stick. Her hair was a mess and her skin was littered with bruises and cuts. She was spattered with blood and guts. She was wheezing like a chronic smoker. She smelled bad. She seemed to have the energy of an eighty year old woman. And she had terrible posture. "You do look pretty fucked up," Aubrey agreed. "Alright, follow me."

"Gee, thanks." Amika muttered with a roll of her eyes at the comment as she traded weapons with Aubrey. As if the other girl hadn't seen better days herself. Aubrey handed Amika her pistol as she grabbed the shotgun from her. She tested it in her hands, trying to get used to the different weight. Her arms were shaky and tired, but she knew it was her turn to step up. Hopefully they would be able to rest once they got to the CVS.

Rounding the corner, she was pleased to see that it was like Amika said, the zombies were all at the other building, leaving the rest of the street deserted. And since the sun had set, it would be easy enough for them to stay hidden in the shadows of the buildings. Aubrey led Amika as fast as she thought the girl would be able to keep up. They made it all the way to the other side of the highway without having a single infected come after them.

Amika was impressed with Aubrey's leading. She found the safest routes and wasn't afraid to walk ahead of the usual leader. Being in the front meant that she shielded Aubrey from most of the attacks since the two had joined up. She wondered if that thought ever crossed Aubrey's mind. Probably not, and even if it did Aubrey's warped little mind expected Amika to take the fall for her.

It had been a good couple of days since Amika had any real sleep. The whole outbreak weighed on her mind and runner up was protecting Aubrey. It was strange to think that she would fiercely protect someone she barely knew. It must have been the fact that Aubrey was the only other human alive. For all she knew they were the only survivors. Her sister was dead, her girlfriend, that old lady who always bought grey goose on Thursdays, her best friend Farrah... She hadn't had time to grieve on her losses with the need to survive always taking over her mind. She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice her body had gone into auto pilot and was mimicking what Aubrey was doing. Her vision soon became hooded by her eyelids and she didn't even have enough energy to call out to Aubrey as her knees caved under her.

Aubrey heard a thud and saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She whipped around, gun ready, only to see Amika slumped on the ground. "Amika," she whispered, trying not to make any noise. She nudged the girl with her toe. _Damn it! She passed out!_

Aubrey crouched down and shook her by her shoulders. Amika's head flopped back and forth limply. _Shit! What do I do now? _Aubrey looked around, debating on whether or not she should just leave her there. How could she possibly protect herself and drag the girl along? Although, they hadn't run across any infected for awhile. She could see the CVS was only about three more blocks, and the shotgun did have a strap. And as much as she hated to admit it, the girl had started to grow on her. Besides, with so few humans left in the world, she didn't really like the thought of being alone.

Swinging the shotgun on to her back, Aubrey grabbed Amika by the hands and began the awkward three block walk to the CVS.


	2. Chapter II  Explosion

Characters

**Ashton Long**

Age: 22

Height: 6'4"

Ref: Nicholas Lemons

**Farrah Delmar**

Age: 20

Height: 4'10"

Ref: Kristen Bell

Characters belong to us, everything else is copyright to Valve

Chapter II - Explosion

Stumbling in the darkness, she tried to remember what had happened. Farrah could hear a dripping echoing close to her. She wondered vaguely if it was blood, but that was a strange thought. Why would there be blood dripping? Then suddenly it all came back. The zombie infection. The horde that had come and attacked. She had escaped to the gas station only to realize she had been bitten. She would become one of them. She shivered, remembering the reason she had locked herself in the small gas station bathroom. She knew her friends were out there somewhere, and she did not want them to find her like this. That way, when she became a zombie, she would trapped in here with no way to cause anyone else any harm.

She found the light switch in the bathroom, wondering vaguely if it would even work. Light flooded the small room, momentarily blinding her. She realized the dripping had been the faucet, which she twisted shut. She looked at her weathered reflection in the mirror. Her once honey colored hair was darkened with blood. Her clothes were torn, revealing scratched and bruised skin. Her eyes were bloodshot and her face was swollen from the fight. Her gaze at last turned to the bloody mess on her forearm; the bite.

She was unsure how long she had been in the bathroom, but the wound had already begun to scab over. _Strange, _she thought, _why would something that is going to kill me start to heal? _Well, she had never experienced someone turning so she had no idea what to expect. She just hoped it wouldn't be too painful. She sat back against the wall, hoping it would all be over soon.

One week later...

Ashton gripped the axe tightly, his hands were covered in blood and guts from the wielding of his short range weapon. His exposed toned torso was surprisingly injury free. His powerful limbs and lack of strategy worked in his favor. If anyone knew better it looked like Ashton was actually enjoying himself. Why wouldn't he? There were no more rules, no more authorities, and as much fighting as he wanted!

He approached the gas station slowly. His brown eyes flicked back and forth across the gas pumps and he surveyed his environment. No one was coughing, gagging, or growling so he was in the clear from the mutated humans... He wasn't even sure if he could still call them that. They were too far gone to be considered humane. Groaning and shrieking for the sight of blood as if wild animals. Ashton rolled his shoulders before taking one hand off of his axe to pull out a flashlight from his backpack. A small click was heard before a beam of light illuminated the ma and pa sign above the door. _Go figure I'd be stealing from this place again.'_

The inside was as sorry and deserted as the outside was. Shelves were knocked over and torn open chip bags littered the floor. Most of the beverages in the freezer were gone or spilled all over the tiled ground. This place had definitely seen better days. He ran a hand through his hair before kneeling down to rummage through the wreckage.

Ashton fitted as many snacks as he could into his pack and filled the side pockets with bandages and ointment. He was about to sling the backpack around his shoulder but his flashlight caught the bright colors of a Slushie machine. A wicked grin pulled up the corners of his mouth and in moments his head was laying face up towards the nozzle. He pulled the lever and got a rush of artificially flavored water contents all over his face. He grunted and kicked up into a sitting position as his nostrils stung from the sudden rush of sugar in them.

"Fuck! fuck! fuck! fuckity FUCK!" He snorted out some of the juice and shook his head. He picked up a water bottle from the ground and dumped it over his head. The last thing he needed was to attract the likes of those sick humans with his blueberry hair.

Farrah looked around the small bathroom, wondering what had startled her awake so quickly. She realized she had left the light on and rushed to turn it out. What if someone saw it and she attacked them? Although, she ran a hand across her wound, she still seemed pretty alive.

The sudden movement of standing had made her dizzy and stars danced before her eyes. Was that the change? Was she about to pass out? Or was it simply the fact she hadn't eaten in days? She stood still, waiting for something to happen. The stars faded. _Not a zombie yet, damn... Why is it taking so long? _The wound was no longer burning but aching dully, the pain only sharpening when she poked at it. The rest of her still felt rather normal. _Why am I not a zombie yet?_

Her stomach rumbled angrily and she wondered how long it had been since she last ate. Farrah knew there was plenty of food on the other side, she had knocked over a shelf full as she frantically rushed to escape the horde. Did she dare step outside long enough to grab something to eat? She had been in the bathroom a couple days at least and she hadn't yet changed, surely a minute or two couldn't hurt.

As she started to open the door, she heard a noise. Quickly she pulled it back shut. It had sounded like muffled cursing; another survivor? She hadn't seen another human since she'd fled her infected apartment complex; she had to fight the urge to rush out and investigate._ I can't risk hurting anyone..._

He checked the machine and on closer inspection it had been unplugged in some struggle. The juice couldn't stay cold and therefore slushie-like. He should have thought about that before spraying himself in the face and causing a ruckus. He hoped he didn't catch the attention of surrounding infected. He grabbed his axe from the counter and draped his pack over his shoulder. He was about to head out but stopped as he went by the register. There was a small chance that the owners wanted to protect themselves from burglars and arm themselves accordingly. He hopped over the counter and sorted through the unimportant stuff.

A smile graced his lips when he found a pistol and a box of ammo. He tucked the ammo behind him in a small pocket on the side of his backpack. He slipped the gun in between his belt and his jeans, making sure the safety was on. He came to a full stand and a glint caught his eye. It was the key to the bathroom. Maybe there was some supplies in there that he could look for. Life was coming down to desperate measures and he figured a few tampons or pads would come in handy if he ran out of bandages. He grabbed the key and headed for the 'Restroom' sign. He slipped the key in and unlocked the door.

Farrah quickly locked the door as she heard footsteps coming. But to her amazement the door still opened revealing a strange looking fellow with blue tinted skin. She wondered if he was another form of mutated zombie. Only as far as she knew none of them were smart enough to unlock a door, nonetheless turn the handle. And so far he wasn't trying to eat her.

"Who are you and why is your skin like that? You smell like..." she stepped closer, sniffing the air around him, "Is that... blueberries?"

Ashton was startled to see someone holed up inside the bathroom. He raised his axe but when she didn't attack him right away he didn't move. Then she started to speak and even smell the fragrance coming from his face. He cleared his throat and lowered his weapon.

"Name's Ashton... I... Are you okay? How long have you been in here?" It took his eyes only a moment to sweep across her body and notice that she was underweight.

"I'm Farrah. I'm not sure how long I've been here, or if I'm okay..." she replied honestly. She studied him, unsure if she should disclose the bite. What if he just tried to shoot her or something? Although she couldn't really blame him if he did. Maybe it would be better that way but before she could say anything he started talking again.

"Did your mom put you in here? If you're hungry there's a bunch of chips out there. How old are you?" Ashton's tone went softer and he knelt down so his six foot four frame wasn't towering over her. Usually Ashton was an ass of sorts but with kids, especially in this type of environment and situation, he decided to play it nice. He couldn't imagine losing a family in all of this and going through it so young. He guessed she was about 12 or 13.

Farrah raised her eyebrow at the insinuation of age. "Excuse me? I have no mom. Yes I'm hungry! And I'm TWENTY!" Standing at only 4'10", Farrah had spent her whole life being mistaken for a child. It was clear, even at the end of the world, that some things would never change. She crossed her arms and glared at Ashton. She knew she shouldn't be so upset, after all the guy didn't even know her and at least he was trying to be nice, but she felt an overwhelming anger from the whole situation rising inside her.

"Just hand me a bag of chips, close the door and leave me be!" She held out her hand expectantly. Ashton jerked his head back at her sudden reaction to his question. Then he began roaring with laughter. He ended up falling back on his butt and rocked forward and back with his arms clutching his sides. He wiped an emerging tear and finally caught his breath. He came to a stand and loomed over her.

"Listen here, _kid,_ there may be humans attacking and eating each other out there but there is no way I'm going to believe you're 20 years old." He leaned forward and roughly poked her in the forehead at his last word, "Get your own damn chips, _kid_." Before she could react he turned on his heel and started to walk towards the exit laying the axe across his broad bare shoulders.

"How dare you be so rude!" Farrah snapped, appalled at his reaction. Before she could stop herself, she grabbed a piece of jerky off a nearby shelf and flung it at the back of his smart-ass head. After all, he thought she was a child. _Why not act like one?_

He stopped dead in his tracks. The jerky bounced off the back of his head and landed a couple feet from him. He suddenly turned around and started stomping towards her. He reached forward and grabbed her by the collar and picked her up as if she weighed nothing.

"Hey!" she struggled to get away.

"Listen here you-" His deep voice was cut off by the chilling cry of infected in the distance. Ashton whipped his head towards the doors and his expression darkened. He had heard that sound before and that meant a mob of them were coming.

"Shit." He set her down roughly and pushed the pistol against her chest, "Take this. You'll need it. A horde of them are coming this way."

Farrah glanced at the weapon in her palm, somewhat touched by the gesture. "Uh thanks. But I'm just a kid. What makes you think I know how to fire a gun?" she asked sarcastically, grabbing the ammo and tucking it into her back pocket.

"Unless you want the axe, I figured that would be easier for you to use. Besides, with your skinny arms and short legs I don't think you'd get through their kneecaps let alone behead them." Ashton felt his heartbeat quicken and his palms were turning clammy. He loved destroying those things though he didn't know anything about them, aside from how to kill them. He hadn't been bitten yet and he was discontent at the thought of dying at any moment.

"C'mon, let's get out of here. Unless of course you don't want to team up with a _kid._" Farrah glanced at the horde that had now reached the parking lot of the gas station, then turned back to Ashton, her expression suddenly thoughtful, "Do you know, how long does it take someone to turn after being bitten by an infected?"

Ashton quirked an eyebrow at her question, giving her a suspicious glance. Her line of thought was interrupted by a loud, deep roar. She had heard that roar only once before; when her small apartment complex had been leveled, leaving her the only survivor. And she had just barely escaped. "Shit, a Tank!"

Farrah fired some rounds at the nearing horde, taking out a dozen. She knew that tanks were tough, strong and nearly impossible to take out with bullets alone. She took quick stock of their surroundings as the Tank let out another thunderous roar. Suddenly, she had an idea.

"I need you to find some matches," Farrah ducked as half a car came hurtling through the glass windows above her head. "And HURRY!" she added as glass rained down over her head and the hunk of metal wiped out the shelving units behind her.

"A what!?" Ashton didn't have enough time to feel impressed by her aim and he practically jumped over the small girl as the car came through the storefront. He heard the tone in her voice and he scrambled to his feet. He ran over to the register counter and swiped a pile of matches kept by the lighters and even grabbed a stack of those. The ground was beginning to quake as the Tank fast approached them.

"Got'em! What's the plan, Kid!?" Ashton dubbed her the nickname since he had already forgot her real one. He used his axe hand and sunk the blade into the forehead of an infected that was close to him. He would quickly catch up to whatever she was doing while trying to dodge the zombies that managed to get into the store.

"Cover me!" Farrah yelled, shooting her way through the mass of infected out towards the gas pumps. She hoped Ashton was following her, because she'd need his help. She made her way to the nearest pump and pulled the nozzle out. "I need you to sever the line with your axe," she cried, holding her pistol in her free hand and shooting. She could see the Tank approaching and yelled "DUCK!" as he slung a chunk of cement their way. The throw went wide, leaving eight dead infected in its wake. "We're gonna barbecue that monster!"

Farrah let the nozzle fall to the ground where Ashton could easily hack at it, then continued on to the other pumps to do the same thing. Her small build and gymnast's flexibility allowed her to move skillfully through the horde, but she wondered if Ashton was faring as well. Once finished, she maneuvered her way back to cover for him.

Ashton was a tall well built man that had exercised his muscles frequently in his fight for survival every day. He was a one man team and needed to stay on top of his game. He was becoming to like Kid more and more as he watched her gracefully remove the nozzles in a timely manner. She would definitely be a good addition to his team. He was having some trouble because one of his hands was full of matches and lighters. He had to keep turning around to slice up the zombies getting too close for his liking.

Once she came back up to cover him he focused on the gas pumps and brought the axe down on all the hoses. He ran through them smoothly and stayed close to her after he was finished. He wasn't really sure the exact location of this Tank, but from the volume of his roaring and the weight of the items tossed at them he was certain that he couldn't take this thing down with just his axe.

"I'm guessing we lure it over here and then go running for the hills!?" Ashton shouted over the Tank's rumbling and the infected as they groaned and screamed. He saw a group of zombies fly by his head and he looked over to see the massive bulge that was the Tank. A car was raised above its head and it didn't seem to care that it was killing other infected.

"Exactly!" Farrah yelled over the chaotic noise. Then she caught sight of the car in the Tanks palms, "Run!" She shot down the zombies in her immediate path and then began leading the way through the middle of the pumps. The stench of gasoline was overwhelming and she tried to take as shallow of breaths as possible. Her shoes and the bottom of her jeans were now soaked in gasoline. They would have to be very careful not to set themselves on fire when the time came to light the gas. Ashton allowed her the lead and was close behind her, being careful not to step on her heels. She didn't have to tell him twice.

The Tank hurled the massive vehicle and it wiped out the pump nearest to Farrah, spraying gasoline into the air like rain. She could feel the earth quaking beneath her feet as the Tank continued thundering after them. Pistol whipping a zombie that had gotten too close, Farrah then shot the last three out of her way as she neared the edge of the lot. Turning, she saw the Tank was in the center of their trap. "Quick, light the gas!"

Ashton's face was curled up into a huge grin and he was actually beginning to enjoy the unraveling of her plan. He felt the gasoline drizzle across his chest and back and he felt a little uneasy carrying the load of matches. He dropped them and quickly scraped a match against the back of the book. He turned and flicked the lit match towards the Tank. He guessed what was to happen next and he dropped his axe as he turned back around. He wrapped his big arms around Kid to shield her from the blast.

The Tank roared in pain as the fire engulfed the gasoline pooled at it's feet. Flames licked at his meaty body and it didn't have enough time to run before the gas pumps blew up around him. Surrounding zombies were immediately incinerated but as the horde fanned out the outer infected were simply blown back. Ashton picked Kid up and put her over his shoulder, thinking that the blast would draw in another horde.

"Oof," Farrah grunted as she tried to adjust herself. She didn't particularly like being carried this way; it was rather uncomfortable with Ashton's shoulder digging into her stomach. But Farrah was exhausted, malnourished and dehydrated and if it meant she didn't have to run, she wasn't about to complain.

"Watch my back!" He swiped his axe from the floor and started to sprint away from the burning gas station.

She took out half a dozen of the stunned zombies and was out of ammo. Farrah pulled the ammo from her back pocket and quickly began to reload as Ashton furthered the distance between them and the remaining horde.

"Keep to this road," Farrah said, "There is a CVS about a mile down where we can stock up on supplies." There were about twenty zombies still following, but she picked them off rather easily although her arm was harder to lift with each shot. She was glad that Amika had forced her to come to the shooting range with her and taught her how to handle a gun. Who knows if she would have lasted as long without that knowledge. All those first person shooter video games had probably helped as well. She wondered where Amika was and if she'd ever meet up with her again.

Exhaustion began to overwhelm Farrah and she found herself blinking, trying to keep her eyes open as her eyelids grew heavier and heavier. _Too bad I got bitten... I would have liked to see Amika again. The zombies wouldn't stand a chance against us... _It was the last thought Farrah had before she passed out.


	3. Chapter III  Joining Forces

Characters belong to us, everything else belongs to Valve

Chapter III – Joining Forces

Ashton slowed to a stop when the building came into his view and he adjusted Kid in his hands. He thought it was pure luck that the next section of the city was unpopulated. Luck or an omen of some kind. He figured the cities would have the most infected since the military herded them there for protection. Not the smartest idea. One bad apple, an infected, ruined the whole batch. Cities were down in a matter of hours. He kept his wits about and trudged carefully. He planned on staying at the pharmacy store for a couple days, if it was safe enough, to let Kid rest up and gain her original strength back.

"What the...?" he murmured when he noticed two zombies in the distance close to the store. He lifted the pistol to aim it at them but on closer inspection he noticed that one was trying to help the other. He had only seen infected people kill and they didn't seem to have the brain capacity for much else. Maybe they were survivors like him and Kid. He would have to be extremely cautious around them to see if they were bitten or not, but thought that the bigger the team the more likely they were to survive. The distance was closing as he neared the store and he would make his presence known because a startled person with a gun was not a good way to die.

"Oi!" Ashton called out to the conscious girl as he slowly approached her. Aubrey was relieved as she saw that she had finally reached the CVS. She knew she couldn't have made it much longer. Amika may be slender, but she was still heavy. She could feel her muscles twitching with exhaustion.

As she heard a voice, she jumped. She let go of Amika's arms and quickly whipped the shotgun around, aiming at the sound. "Who are you?" she called. She figured he couldn't be a zombie, seeing as he was speaking coherent sentences and wasn't trying to eat her. However, she still didn't know if she could trust him.

"Looks like we have the same problem." He joked and held up Kid's tiny slumbering body. He hoped this girl was smart enough to realize he wasn't an infected person. He stopped a distance from them, uncertain of how she was going to react. She was a beautiful girl which was still apparent even with the grime that coated her body. He wanted to gain her trust quickly so he could take care of Kid and her injuries.

"My name's Ashton and this here is... A 12 year old who thinks shes 20. We haven't been bitten and would like to hide out in that CVS." He kept his distance. He couldn't really see the other girl from the angle he was at but hoped she wasn't brutally wounded.

"...uh OK," She wasn't sure what to think about the girl cradled in his arms. What if she was bitten? She could be about to turn into a zombie for all Aubrey knew. Maybe Ashton was lying. Although, she glanced at Amika, he could be thinking the same thing about her friend. She shifted the shotgun back deciding that she would just take her chances with this Ashton fellow. She was too tired to fight anymore and she didn't want to wait out in the open and debate motives. She picked up Amika's hands and continued to drag her the distance to the door, calling to Ashton, "Well, I'm Aubrey.. This is Amika," she waved the unconscious girl's arm before setting her down at the doorway. "You want to check the place out, make sure its safe? I can watch these two."

"Okay." Ashton smiled and let go of a breath he didn't even know he was holding. Once they got to the doors he set Kid down close to the other unconscious girl and she ended up with her head resting on the other girls stomach. He pulled out his pistol and grunted slightly as he yanked open the steel doors to the CVS. He turned his flashlight on and stepped inside.

The store seemed pretty much intact... there were a few areas where blood was strewn about but he didn't hear anything out of the norm. His flashlight came across a few objects that didn't seem to belong. It looked as if the CVS was turned into a substitute safe house. Places he had heard about where the military guarded the CEDA employees as they treated people who were not infected. He stepped a little closer and saw that the blood came from a few samples that were put in plastic bags. It left him with an uneasy feeling but those _things_ weren't apparently populating the store. He dubbed it safe enough for now and quickly walked back to the front to wave the other girl in. If there were a few stragglers they wouldn't be hard to take out. He decided to claim the taller girl for now as she was heavier than Kid. He slung her over his shoulder.

"You want to take her in for me? I think I saw a few stretchers in there we can lay'em on." He nodded to Aubrey and held the steel door open for her. It seemed like it was a good barrier against infected, though he was sure a Tank could easily take the place. "We can take care of any injuries you girls might have."

Aubrey glanced down at the girl. She looked like she hadn't eaten in awhile, but at least she would be light.  
>She grabbed her by her hands and dragged her down the hallway after Ashton.<p>

The raven haired girl wasn't heavy for him at all and he held his flashlight in his free hand. The beam of light lead them to a small series of stretchers. Each with a thin white curtain separating them and a silver tray with medical instruments perched upon them. His light couldn't reveal all of it, but towards the end, and away from them, a few stretchers were knocked over and the curtains ripped slightly. Ashton concluded it was the reason why the safe house was barren now. He set Amika down on the stretcher nearest him and hoped Aubrey wasn't too far back. He would lead her to the next stretcher for Kid.

Aubrey found goosebumps rising up her arms as she tried to make out their surroundings. It was eery in the darkness and she felt like a zombie would leap out at any moment. The ripped curtains and tipped over stretchers seemed a bad omen, but she figured if there had been any infected still here they would have already made their presence known. With her muscles protesting in pain, she managed to haul the petite girl onto a stretcher next to Amika.

"Stay here, let me go find a light switch or somethin'." He left Aubrey in the dark and walked around the stretchers. His pistol drawn and loaded with a fresh clip. He stumbled into a light post and grew slightly frustrated as he struggled to find a switch for it. Several curse words later a light spilled over him and the girls.

Once they had some light, Aubrey felt her fear recede. She doubled back to make sure the doors had been shut. Satisfied they were safe, at least for the moment, she snatched some snacks from the ransacked candy aisle and then walked back to the stretchers. It was a strange floor-plan; one half laid out like the typical CVS store, but the shelves had been pushed aside on the other half to make room for all the medical equipment and beds.

She glanced at the two passed out girls as she propped herself on an empty stretcher. "Wonder when they'll wake up..." she mused. She glanced back at Ashton and tossed him a Milky Way before devouring the snickers bar she kept for herself. While Aubrey was busy in the candy aisle Ashton had tucked his flashlight into his back pocket and found a few health packs near the stretchers. He came up to the two unconscious girls right about the time Aubrey threw him the Milky Way. He caught it in the red pack and shrugged his shoulders.

"Depends. My teammate was locked in a bathroom for a good couple of days. I'm goin' to wake her soon to get her to eat." Ashton set the supplies down on one of the trays. "How 'bout you and... Sleepy Head over there? Do you have any wounds that need fixin' up?"

"Nothing a hot shower and a good nights sleep couldn't fix, although she has some cuts that might need tending," Aubrey replied. Finished with the Snickers, she was ready to go hunting for more, "And her name is Amika, remember?"

"Whatever." It was apparent he was bad with names. He would give the new girls nicknames after a while, like he did Kid. He stood slightly in front of her, ready to patch her up. He was no doctor but he was rambunctious enough as a youngin' to know how to patch up scrapes and cuts. From his close up on Sleepy Head, when he bent down to pick her up earlier, he saw that she would need the most treatment. She was covered with dirt, bruises, and bled through her clothes in a few places. Glancing back at the other pretty girl, she didn't seem too injured or anything. A few bruises maybe, but she wasn't bleeding or in need of some medical attention. Did this girl put herself into harms way to protect her?...

"How long have you two been together?" Ashton asked, the suspicion of Sleepy Head's cuts beginning to nag at him. It had been about two weeks since everything started going to shit, but there was a slim chance that either or both girls were infected. He hadn't sustained any injuries so he wasn't sure if he was immune or not. He really didn't want to test his luck.

"We met awhile back, not sure how long its been now..."

"Her favorite color must be purple." Ashton turned his attention back to Sleepy Head and started to pull off her shirt. His sarcastic comment came after he removed her purple long sleeve to reveal a lighter purple tank with a bra of a deeper purple than her shirt. He decided to leave her tank on, much to his dismay. She only had a few deep gashes and bruising but nothing severe. Lifting her shirt slightly he found that the area around her ribs were a dark reddish purple. He winced, but couldn't do much about it. He reached into one of the med packs and pulled out hydrogen peroxide, he would use that to clean her wounds since water didn't seem accessible. "Wanna lend a hand?"

"Ew. Do I look like a nurse?" Aubrey replied, rolling her eyes. Hadn't dragging her here been enough?

"You are a woman, aren't you? So yes." Ashton answered back quickly.

"I may look amazing in a nurses outfit, but trust me I don't know the first thing about medicine," Aubrey replied somewhat annoyed, as she hopped off the stretcher. "You play doctor, I'll go find us some more food." She shot him a dazzling smile as she walked passed him. Ashton threw the girl a swift agitated glance but she had already turned deeper into the store.

Aubrey wandered amongst the aisles. The truth was, she hated the sight of blood. The irony, metallic smell alone made her feel faint. But she wasn't about to admit that. Why make herself look any weaker? Once he was finished with Sleepy Head he would turn his attention to Kid. He shook her shoulder and held out his Milky Way bar towards her.

The aisles held more than Aubrey expected, but she figured whoever had set up camp here had left in a hurry. As it was, they were still more barren than full and it took her awhile to find anything that was somewhat nutritious. She found some crackers, cheese whiz, beef jerky, fruit cups and some juice boxes. She also snagged a hairbrush and some baby wipes then made her way back to the stretchers where it looked like Ashton was trying to rouse Farrah.

"Hey kid. I got dinner for ya." He would pick through different aisles later. He was a little uncertain if there was any real food left. Most of it would be spoiled by now or already given to the people who first crowded there.

Farrah felt a tugging at her shoulder as she slowly awakened. "Stop please," she moaned as she peeked one eye open. Her head was pounding and her whole body ached fiercely. Then she saw the candy bar dangling in front of her eyes. While normally a health nut, the sight of something edible had her empty stomach rumbling painfully. She grabbed Ashton by the neck. "Don't tease me. Hand it over!"

"Slow down! It's for you!" Ashton choked with raised eyebrows. When he was grabbed he released the bar at her. His expression didn't change when he witnessed her wolf it down in less than three bites. He couldn't blame the poor girl, but she was really scary at the moment... He also hoped she remembered to take the wrapper off.

"We met up with two other girls. Nurse, who went to search for more food and Sleepy Head over there." Ashton nodded behind him towards the other stretcher. He hoped Nurse would toss them some more food. He could feel his stomach slowly begin to come to life with grumbles of his own.

Aubrey was amazed at how quickly the tiny girl put the candy bar down. "Here," she said, tossing her the jerky and cheese whiz, "Have at it. There's more back there if you finish that," she turned to Ashton and tossed him the jerky, "Here, I suppose I should give this to you. You are what you eat after all." She sat down and began eating one of the fruit cups.

Farrah was too busy devouring the food to even say thank you, which was proof of just how hungry she was. She was normally quite polite. After she had eaten as much as her starved stomach could hold, she finally began to take note of her surroundings. She realized she was on a stretcher of sorts, and there was some medical equipment. But aside from that, it had all the makings of a drug store and she figured they had gotten to the CVS after all.

"Thanks for the food, uhm, Nurse?" Farrah glanced at the girl. She could see she wasn't much taller than herself, and underneath the filth she was rather attractive. Farrah then turned to glance at "sleepy head" and her jaw dropped.

"AMIKA!" Farrah leaped out of the bed towards Amika, anxious to wake her friend, but her legs were asleep and she went down fast, plowing the stretcher over as she tried to catch herself on the rails. Amika was sent rolling a few feet from her stretcher that was now on its side. She was literally thrown from her unconscious state.

"God damn it, Farrah! WHAT?!" For a moment it was like she was in her bedroom and Farrah decided 10 o'clock was late enough for sleep time, and an elbow drop from the dresser was a sure way to wake Amika. She stood up and was about to tackle her friend in a playful manner, but one glance at her surroundings and she froze. Everything came back to her in a rush.

Everything happened so fast that Ashton didn't have any type of reaction to the stretcher falling over. He did however start choking on his jerky when Farrah suddenly yelled. He guessed there were only a hand full of survivors left, none of which he thought he would know personally. This had turned into a strange string of events.

"Holy shit... Farrah! You're alive!" Amika dashed towards her friend and picked her up, hugging her with as much strength as she could muster.. which wasn't much at the moment, thankfully, or Farrah would've had bruised ribs of her own.

"Where the hell have you been?" Amika pulled her away for a moment and got a good look at her friend. A frown took over her features. "Why the hell are you so skinny?"

Farrah was trying to catch her breath. While she wasn't at full strength, Amika still had enough to squeeze the air out of her. Not to mention, her legs had started to get their feeling back sending sharp needles of pain up her limbs. "Tank bulldozed my apartment building... then I was chased by a horde and got bit... so I hid out in the gas station bathroom for awhile... where this guy found me... we fought another horde and Tank... but then I passed out... and somehow ended up here with you..." Farrah explained as her breathing slowly returned to normal. "I'm so happy to see you!" she squealed and hugged Amika once more, "I'm not sure how much longer I'll be human, but at least I got to see you one more time!"

At the mention of the bite, Aubrey quickly picked the shotgun back up, aiming it at Farrah's face. "You were bitten?" she flashed Ashton an angry glare, "You lied! You said she hadn't been!"

"I didn't fuckin' know! She had been holed up in that bathroom for what looked like a week. I thought it took less than a day for people to change!" Ashton defended himself.

"To be fair, I never told him. Ashton really didn't know." Farrah interjected, and she turned to Ashton, "Sorry, I was going to tell you but then the Tank came and I figured I'd help you take it out first. I didn't plan on the passing out part."

"Hold on!" Amika pivoted her body so that Farrah was turned away from the gun, "We both know that we're immune Aubrey. What if Farrah is immune too?"

"I guess..." Aubrey relented grudgingly, though she didn't put the gun down, merely lowered it so it was not aimed right at Farrah's face anymore.

"How do you guys know you're immune?" Ashton shot back to Sleepy Head. He thought joining up with other people would make his life easier.

"We've been through this whole city and encountered a lot of infected. Been scratched, grabbed by tongues, pounced on.. I also heard it was airborne, so if we haven't changed yet then we're immune. " Amika felt the air grow heavy around her. She had to put faith that her best friend wasn't about to turn on her. Aubrey did have the right idea, and if it was anyone else Amika would've let her shoot the bitten person... but not her best friend. After everything they've gone through together and finally finding each other again, Amika had to cling on to the sliver of hope that Farrah would be okay. She set her small friend down so she could inspect the wound. "Can I see the mark?"

"Here," Farrah lifted her forearm out to Amika, "It's that one," she pointed to the largest of the scrapes on her arm. "It's probably been about a week or so since it happened..."

Amika leaned in and her light brown eyes roamed over the scab. It already looked like it was healing and if it had been a week then she would be okay. Amika wasn't the leading expert on the Green Flu but from some reports and graffiti left by other survivors, Farrah seemed in the clear. The bite looked like it was pretty big, and if she remembered correctly from the movies then that meant Farrah would've been a zombie in a matter of hours.

"It's already pretty much healed up and with so much time having went by, if she isn't a zombie now then she won't ever be one." Amika nodded and a bright smile lit up her features. She looked over to Aubrey with a nod. "And if she turns, then you can kill me too."

Farrah let out a sigh of relief. All that time spent worrying for nothing. The thought of immunity had never even crossed her mind. "Thank goodness! Here I was holed up in the gas station worrying about turning and hurting someone. At least it led me back to you though."

Aubrey couldn't really argue with Amika's logic and she reluctantly set the shotgun down. After all, she had been bit herself and she was still okay. She rolled her eyes at Farrah's selfless claim. Like anyone would care about hurting someone else in times like these. If she had been bit, she would kept on going until she found someone with a cure!

"Are there any bathroom's here?" Amika interrupted her own serious air to ask her question. She hated her bodies routine of having to pee after sleeping. She hadn't drank anything before she passed out and yet she still had to go.

"I'm not sure if the plumbing works, but you can check." Ashton tossed her his flashlight and went back to gnawing on his jerky. He wasn't feeling extremely comfortable with how things were turning out, but there wasn't much he could do. If they were immune then.. wasn't he?

"I'll come with," Aubrey volunteered. "If the plumbing does work, I'd love to wash up a bit. I wonder what the chances are of finding a shower?" She got up to follow Amika. "You coming?" she shot at Farrah, not really caring one way or the other.

"I'm starting to feel kind of sick," Farrah clutched her stomach and hunched over. Her headache had been reduced to a minor throb, but an overwhelming nausea had crept up. "I think I ate too much too fast. I'm just gonna sit down here until it passes." She didn't quite have the energy to climb back onto the stretcher so she just slumped to the floor instead.

Ashton watched the two taller girls walk away for a moment before he averted his gaze to Kid. He couldn't really find the right time where she would have told him in between her "actual" age and the Tank. From where he was sitting, he reached over and snatched a sheet from her stretcher. Still wary of her he threw the thin blanket towards her so it partially covered her. He looked away right after as if he didn't do it and grabbed the end of his Slim Jim.

Farrah smiled weakly at the gesture and closed her eyes, tugging the corners of the blanket up around her shoulders.


	4. Chapter IV  Rode Hard Put Away Wet

Characters belong to us, everything else belongs to Valve

Chapter IV – Rode Hard, Put Away Wet

"You sure she's immune?" Aubrey asked Amika quietly as they headed to search for the bathroom.

Amika glanced over her shoulder briefly to her best friend. "It all adds up. Even if she did turn we're already immune. She bites us, so what? I'm sure you or I would kill her before that happened. As for that Ashton guy... Who cares?"

"Its not like he helped me survive the past week-Holy shit!" Amika's confident smile twisted into disgusted shock. She pushed the flashlight against Aubrey's chest and she whipped out her pistol. There were showers. Three spouts with plastic sheets in between each located next to the 'Restrooms' area. The farthest right shower was full of blood, or seemed like it. Amika couldn't see much from the small beam of light that was provided for them. She also heard a faint moaning and... Chuckling?

Aubrey let out an excited shriek as she noticed the showers, but her excitement quickly dissipated at the sight of the blood and strange noises. The vision of the coagulated blood made her legs weak and she quickly diverted her gaze. She wished she hadn't left the shotgun back by the stretchers.

"What is that?.." Amika whispered before taking a step forward, relying on Aubrey's flashlight direction.

"I'm not sure, but it's definitely creepy. What's that noise? Ashton said the place was clear." Aubrey shined the flashlight Amika had handed her over the showers, trying to get a better a look. She heard another hyena-like cackle when something launched itself out of the shadows. All she saw was movement when suddenly something was on her shoulders; it's limbs clutching her neck and shoulders in a vice-like grip.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Aubrey screamed as loud as she could, which was pretty damn loud. The thing began to claw at her viciously as it laughed maniacally. "Help me! Get it off! Oh my god! OH MY GOD! GET THE FUCK OFF!" Aubrey was trying to pry it off but it was far too powerful. It was leaning too, causing her to stumble backwards down the hallway into further darkness. She could feel its nails digging into and ripping her skin and she began to beat it with the flashlight, to no avail. "HEEEEEELLLLP MEEEEEEEEE!"

Back at the stretcher, Farrah could hear Aubrey's screams. "Oh no! Do you hear that?" she asked Ashton as she tossed the blanket aside and stood up. Still not feeling well, the movement made her head spin and she clutched the stretcher for support. She tried to shake the feeling away. "We have to go help," she said, trying to convince her body to cooperate as she started to stumble in the direction of the screaming.

Ashton stood up at the same time as Kid. He stepped in front of her to stop her. His hand came around the shotgun and he began his brave stride into the darkness. "I got this."

Farrah was tempted to argue, but felt so nauseous she was afraid to open her mouth. Hands on her knees as she hunched over, she resigned to let Ashton take over.

"Aubrey!" Amika cried and was so quick to turn on her heel it made her dizzy. The darkness didn't help but she focused on the little light Aubrey did shine. Her gun jumped a few different locations before she grew frustrated and got closer to Aubrey and that thing. A few shots were fired in the background accompanied by footsteps.

Hearing gun shots, Farrah panicked. _What is going on? _She knew she had to get over to her teammates and offer whatever help she could. Grabbing her pistol, she followed the path she had seen Ashton take. The nausea seemed to grow with every step, but the desire to help was stronger.

"Don't shoot!" Amika shouted still trying to follow the zigzag pattern Aubrey was forced upon.

"Why the fuck not?!" was Ashton's cry back.

"It's on her _fucking_ head!" Amika's voice carried a certain edge to it. At the right moment Aubrey's light illuminated the Jockeys shoulder and Amika pulled her trigger. The Jockey howled in pain and Amika lifted her pistol slightly higher. The last shot rang in her ears but the laughter ceased and a thud was heard as the Jockey hit the floor. Her last shot hitting close to its left eye. Amika ran up to Aubrey. "You okay?"

Ashton withheld from shooting but still aimed at the infected on Aubrey's shoulders. He was rather impressed with Amika's shooting and began to backpedal to Kid to fill her in on what happened. "Your friend..." He missed her on his way towards the stretchers and looked around when he didn't see her.

"Do I look like I'm OK?!" Aubrey shrieked as she stumbled over the jockey towards Amika. She could feel her blood soaking through her shirt and the lacerations hurt terribly, though the adrenaline that had her heart beating wildly distracted her somewhat from the pain. She shrieked as the Jockey's clammy lifeless hands tangled around her ankles. Thinking it was still alive, she thrashed about hysterically, gaining distance but losing her balance as she fell to the ground. Only she didn't just fall, she slid. She had landed in the pool of blood.

The darkness, the metallic smell and slimy feel of the blood she was covered in, the image of the Jockey and the helplessness and pain she felt as it attacked was too much for Aubrey. Before the infection, the worst discomfort the girl had experienced was having a bikini wax. Having far exceeded her threshold for pain and fear, Aubrey began to sob uncontrollably.

"Fuck no! But I thought I'd-" Amika tried to answer Aubrey's cry for help but she witnessed her fall into the blood. She frowned and shook her head but walked towards Aubrey. She really wanted to inspect the new creature that just attacked her teammate but it wasn't going anywhere. She stepped into the shower next to Aubrey and turned it on. She wasn't sure if the knob was for hot or cold but it was her only option.

"Here.." Amika picked up the sobbing girl bridal style. Once in her arms Amika continued to comfort her with words as she set Aubrey down under the warm running water.

"Are you guys okay?" Farrah called weakly as she got closer. But as she came upon the hallway between the bathroom and another room she was overwhelmed by the stench of decay and blood. She couldn't hold it in any longer. She puked.

Aubrey continued to sob as the warm water rained over her skin. But Amika's kind words and the soothing feeling of the shower began to calm her. She watched the blood and grime trail off her skin and pour down the drain. The feel of her wet jeans and T-shirt grew uncomfortable, and she stripped them off, rinsing them under the spray of the shower. On closer inspection, the shirt was too shredded now to be useful. She tossed it aside and then hung her jeans over the curtain rod. She wished she had some shampoo and body wash, but at least the water was warm.

As she calmed down, the throbbing pain of her injuries became more apparent. She glanced down, realizing there were dozens of sharp scrapes littered across her chest and three particularly deep lacerations where the Jockey's claws had torn into her flesh. Good thing Amika had responded quickly, or who knows what skin she'd have left. She wondered if she'd need stitches.

Farrah suddenly felt much better. The nausea was gone, although her head still hurt. A sudden noise startled her and she looked to her left. In the dim light, she could see the door open to what appeared to be a storeroom, when suddenly two zombies lurched through. She leaped backwards, whipping her pistol up, but they didn't pursue her, they seemed more interested in her puke. _Now that's bizarre... _She fired her pistol until she was satisfied they were dead.

"Hey, who has the flashlight?" she called, wondering if there were more infected still in the room.

Ashton took a couple steps toward the front door but stopped when he heard a shuffling noise behind him. He turned around and his heart stopped when he saw six infected hurriedly stumble out of the aisles and towards Sleepy Head and Nurse. He shot at them but missed. He ran out of bullets and couldn't reload. He ran up and swung the gun at the last zombie to pass him.

"They're coming!" He darted into the dark after them. After a certain distance he slipped on Farrah's vomit and was now the target of the incoming infected.

Hearing Ashton's shout, Farrah turned and saw five infected running in her direction. Bringing up her pistol, she quickly shot down the first four but missed the fifth. It came howling towards her, knocking her to the ground as it ran towards the puke. After a brief struggle in which she gained yet another bite wound on her forearm, Farrah was able to pistol whip it into submission, firing a shot into its skull just to be on the safe side. A dozen more zombies had darted passed her during the short tussle, all having entered through the storage room. The only logical explanation was that there was another entrance in that room. She had to get in there and shut it before any more infected got through, or they would be overwhelmed.

Amika stepped back from the shower and shook her wet bangs. She was glad the heater for the water was working. If it was cold water that had come into contact with Aubrey, Amika was sure that she would be the one with a being on her shoulders steering her towards the darkness.

"Yo..u..u..." Amika was about to ask about her scratches but as soon as her eyes laid on the pretty girl Aubrey had her shirt over her head. Amika's eyes couldn't tear away from the body in front of her. Aside from the blood and dirt, the skimpy lingerie left little to the imagination. Amika was at the mercy of Aubrey's slick skin and all the while didn't hear the shots going off behind her. Her expression held pent up lust, the past two weeks must have been the longest she had gone without...

She was snapped out of her stupor when a fist connected with her back and she was sent flying into Aubrey, the flashlight flying from her hands and down the hall. A loud howl was heard and Amika aimed her gun at the head of her attacker before her vision was blurred with water. The infected fell backwards and the shot attracted the zombies heading towards Farrah's puke.

Aubrey had been about to question Amika's obvious staring when she had been thrown back. _Another attack already? _Aubrey was pissed. "Can't a girl get a fucking break!" She realized she didn't even have a weapon. She switched the knob to the shower off and looked around. The best bet was the shower rod. Using Amika's shoulder for leverage, she snatched it down and ripped the curtain off before holding it between her hands in a batters position. She could hear the zombies footsteps as they approached.

"Shit! What the hell is that smell?!" Ashton gagged and tried to stand but was knocked over as a zombie came up and kicked him. Another one was headed for his face but he rolled out of the way. His side hit the concrete wall. He pushed against it with his palm and came to a stand, rushing forward. A crack was heard as a zombie's face collided with the wall where he was. Ashton continued running blindly.

"Why are they following me-" He felt something cold hit him in his temple and he fell limply to the floor.

"Ooops.." Was Amika's lame response. She couldn't see in the dark and accidentally hit Ashton. "It shut him up at least." She replied before pistol whipping another infected.

The puke was now gone, and the zombies seemed to have mostly all headed towards Amika and Aubrey. Farrah would have to act fast. Spotting the flashlight as it rolled towards her, Farrah quickly picked it up and headed into the storage room. The flashlight illuminating her way, she saw half a dozen shelving units, two zombies and, sure enough, a back door. The zombies darted passed her, evidently on the trail of something. She tried to aim but they moved too fast and it was hard to wield the flashlight and pistol at the same time.

Rushing to the door, she panicked as she saw a horde approaching fast. She tried moving the steel door shut, but it was either too heavy or stuck on something. "Crap crap crap!" she cursed and scanned the room quickly with the flashlight. The light reflected off something silver and she realized it was a pipe bomb. Three more zombies ran passed before she was able to find the button and launch it out the door. All the zombies turned and ran towards the light and noise. Once again she tried closing the door but it still wouldn't budge. She shined the light around its frame and realized someone had stuck a door jam under it. "Who the heck would be that stupid!" she muttered angrily as she kicked it out of the way. Finally she was able to close the door and lock it. It was just in time, as she heard the pipe bomb explode in the distance.

"To your left." Amika instructed Aubrey. Her ears opened up now that her sight was cut off. She grabbed a close infected as it snapped at her and pressed her gun to its head. She was marveling in their current situation. She always loved a challenge. Aubrey was quick to respond and bashed the infected's head in. She could feel the curtain rod bending with each whack. She couldn't see much of anything and was relying solely on Amika's directions. Beeping was heard in the distance but was abruptly closed off. The crowd seemed to thin out after.

"Farrah?" Amika called into the darkness, hoping to get the beam of light towards them. Part of her wanted to get another glimpse of Aubrey. One look from Farrah would tell the short blond of Amika's new interest, also that Ashton's current position was her fault as well.

Farrah heard Amika's voice and rushed to help. Shining the flashlight into the bathroom, she awkwardly shot down the last six zombies that appeared to be after Ashton, who Farrah noticed was unconscious on the floor. Her flashlight shone on Aubrey and Amika, then back to Aubrey who she noticed was dripping wet and practically naked. "Even at the end of the world, you still know how to work your magic, huh?" she said, raising her eyebrow at Amika.

"Ha ha, you know me." Amika laughed sheepishly with a lingering glance at Aubrey. She was filled with an unknown feeling. She chopped it up to her best friend still knowing her motives even during a zombie apocalypse. This familiarity she could only share with Farrah, and it made her miss her old friends. She was sure that Michele had died, Cerina was alive and killing things like she knew best, and Ryu.. She never really knew with him. Probably had knocked out the teeth of some girl zombie for some action. She shrugged off her thoughts.

"What the hell happened? All of a sudden there was a horde but.. nothing here would have set it off." Amika knelt down next to Ashton and gestured for Farrah to shine some light on him. She inspected his back and there was throw up on him but there was no sign of a Boomer, just that short thing that hopped on Aubrey. Her thoughts were jumbled but with the three of them combined maybe a clearer picture would be painted.

"You know how I was feeling really nauseous? Well, I heard gunshots and came to help, but I puked in the hall and then these zombies started after it. It was really strange. They were acting almost like they do with Boomer bile. I figured out there was a door in the storage area and went in to shut that. More zombies kept coming in but they ran right passed me. I found a pipe bomb and was able to get rid of the horde and shut the door. But I can't figure out why they would be after my puke?" she shook her head in confusion. "So what happened in here? Or do I even want to know?" Farrah asked Amika pointedly.

"Wait... hold up!" Aubrey turned to Amika, crossing her arms over her body. She was freezing now that she wasn't under the shower, and had no towel to dry off with. "You're gay?" While secretly pleased her beauty hadn't lost its effect despite the beatings she had taken by the infected, she felt somewhat taken advantage of. "I guess all the machismo makes sense now but don't you think you should have told me that before I got undressed?" Modesty wasn't the problem; Aubrey loved any chance she had to flaunt her figure and in fact had probably spent more of her life in the nude than the average porn star. But she had to be the one in control. She used her sexuality to her advantage, to manipulate. She never set the goodies loose for free, not if she had the possibility to gain something. She had assumed since Amika was so rough and disagreeable that she wasn't interested, and thus Aubrey couldn't use her usual routine with her. Now realizing that assumption was wrong, she was rather angry.

"Macho?-" Amika made a face at Aubrey but shook her head. "Well, you could have asked."

"So, your puke brought them here?... Are.. Are you really infected and... just not acting crazy or trying to kill us?" Amika hadn't heard or thought of something so impossible. She heard talk of Carriers but brushed it off as just a myth or CEDA feeding more bullshit to the public. She looked over to Farrah with a seriously confused expression before quickly standing and turning to Aubrey matter-of-factly. "And I'm Bi."

"Uh, what? I mean, other than a few injuries and a headache, I still feel normal. I don't think I'm infected. Wouldn't I be trying to attack you guys? There must be some logical explanation for it. Is it possible that once you're bit, even if you're immune, you still carry the virus?" Farrah contemplated.

Aubrey merely continued glaring at Amika, oblivious to the conversation. She couldn't figure her out. One minute she was grabbing her by the throat, the next saving her life, and then comforting her and now it turned out she was attracted to Aubrey? Bi as well, (Aubrey could be attracted to anyone as long as they had enough cash, really) she admitted to herself that Amika was attractive in her own way. But they both had rather dominant personalities and butted heads so often... A big shiver shook Aubrey from her line of thought and without a word she walked out of the room to go find something to put on. She would sort out her thoughts later.

Amika rose an eyebrow at the look Aubrey was giving her before walking into the darkness. She brought a finger up to her chin and pondered for a few moments. "I don't know... Maybe this place holds some answers.. There are posters all over." Amika shrugged at Farrah before walking past her.

A click was heard and a light washed over them. "That would have been helpful two minutes ago."

The third shower was indeed full of blood and apparent markings showed a body was dragged off. The middle had been torn apart thanks to Aubrey's need for a weapon leaving only one that could be used comfortably. Amika glanced at the lifeless Jockey but headed back towards the aisles. "I'm going to shower before I do anymore thinking." She swiped soap and shampoo that were nearest to her and headed towards the clean shower. She pulled the plastic over the front of the spout in an attempt of a makeshift curtain. She would wait for Farrah's response before jumping into the shower.

"Don't you think we should help Ashton first?" Farrah crouched down and tried to scope out his injuries. He reeked, that was for sure. And he had a definite goose egg sized lump on his forehead where she assumed Amika had clobbered him. "We need to rinse him off and then get him to one of the stretchers, maybe look for an ice pack to put on that lump you gave him."

"Oh, I forgot about him." Amika rolled her eyes and pushed back the curtain. She bent over to grab his arm but coughed and snapped her head back, her senses overwhelmed by Farrah's previous stomach contents.

"God! Why did it have to be cheese whiz?" Amika held her breath and hastily pulled him into the shower. She turned the water on and stepped out. Ashton came to life and sat up. He brought a hand up to his face and came to a sloppy stand. His eyes bore holes into Amika as he leaned forward a bit to wash off the vomit covering his back.

"You were better when you were asleep." He grumbled and Amika just crossed her arms.

"Hurry up and take care of that bump. I need to shower." She matched his glare. He scoffed but walked out of the shower and towards the stretchers, still clutching his head. Amika took off her tank and nudged Farrah with her elbow before blocking the view to the shower again. "He's all yours."

Farrah rolled her eyes at the comment and trudged off to find more food, feeling suddenly ravenous. "Let me know when you're done! And save me some hot water!" she called over her shoulder.

It had taken Aubrey awhile before she saw anything wearable. After using one of the bed sheets to dry off, Aubrey had found a cabinet with some extra sheets and scrubs in it. They were a little baggy and bright colored, but they would do. After slipping them on, she grabbed a few blankets and then climbed onto one of the stretchers to catch some sleep.

Ashton was sitting on Farrah's old stretcher chewing on a spicy Slim Jim. He couldn't find an ice pack so he would just wait for Sleepy Head and Kid to shower before he would actually wash up. "... Wow, aside from the woman part, now you actually look like a nurse." Ashton poked fun at Nurse as she laid down.

"Most nurses are women dumb ass," Aubrey replied, trying to get comfortable on the mattress. She was lying on her stomach, but the pain from her cuts was unbearable. She rolled to her back and glanced down, realizing she had already bled through her new top. "Shit. I think I might need help patching up these cuts. What do ya say, Doctor?" Aubrey sat up and pulled her top over her head seductively, glancing innocently at Ashton. "You any good at stitching?"

Amika closed her eyes and let the warmth wash over her body. She did want to save some of the hot water for Farrah and got to work on cleaning. A couple minutes later the water ceased and she was about to step out but there was no towel. She cursed under her breath, she couldn't complain much though. Her hair wasn't greasy, her wounds felt better, and her legs were shaved.

"Farrah! I need something to dry myself off with. Help please?" Amika called out for her friends assistance. "I saved the warm water for you!"

Ashton's eyes widened in surprise when her top came off but one glance down and a slight frown twitched the corners of his mouth. Being six foot, his feet were planted on the floor already and he stood up. He tossed his wrapper over his shoulder.

"I knew it.. Nothing but pad. How old are you anyway? 16?" He peered at her open skin. She didn't need stitches but the cuts were pretty deep. He turned his upper body and grabbed a med pack. He pulled out several bandages and more peroxide.

"You might not like this." He warned and waited for her to give him the go.

"Honey, the nails might not be real, the kindness might not be real, but the boobs are all natural. And you are an awful judge at age." Aubrey rolled her eyes, trying not to show how offended she was. Not only was her bra un-padded, it also had no wire. It was rather obvious she wasn't faking anything in that department.

Farrah wandered down the aisles looking for things to eat. She ate a package of fruit snacks, three granola bars, a bag of peanuts, and some licorice. It was at that point she heard Amika calling "Okay, hold on." She headed over to grab a sheet off one of the stretchers.

"Whatever you're doing, I'm not looking!" Farrah called out as she saw Aubrey was still half dressed. She snatched a couple sheets from the cabinet, along with a change of clothes for herself,and quickly headed for the bathrooms.. "Here you go!" she cried as she tossed a sheet over the curtain rod.

"Thanks!" Amika shouted as the blanket fell over her head. She dried herself off and wrapped the cloth around her toned body. "You going in next? All the stuff is on the floor." She stepped out and pulled her damp hair over her shoulder. Her clothes were soaking wet and she threw them over the bathroom stalls to dry. Her bra was clasped back on and she found a black tank top near the scrubs that Aubrey had found. It was a little short but not too tight. Her legs were covered with teal scrubs and she came out to the stretchers. She was ready to eat!

Farrah quickly stripped down and began to shower. She didn't feel the most comfortable in the room alone, what with the blood and dead Jockey, so she wanted to get done as quick as possible. She kept her pistol within arms reach just in case.

"You can look if you want, I'm just going to help with her cuts." Ashton rolled his eyes at Kid and ignored Nurse's comment. She was beginning to wear on his nerves. He was pretty sure it was their age difference, taking the wild guess that she was 16. "It's a wonder you've survived this long Miss Diva."

As if on cue, Amika waltzed into the room looking re-energized. Clean, new clothes, and her hair was tied back into a ponytail. She was smiling and glad to feel somewhat normal. She eyed Aubrey a bit but her gaze was more directed to her injuries. She picked up her stretcher and snagged a beef stick to munch on, straying away from the cheese whiz. "Does she need stitches?" Amika inquired with concern, her head tilted cutely as she came up from behind him.

"No." was Ashton's answer. "Just need to get them cleaned and patched up. Do you want to do this? I think I'm offending her with my peasant-ness."

"Not surprised." Amika sighed, "This okay with you Aubrey?" She figured she might as well ask first. Aubrey acted pretty upset last time she didn't clarify something.

"More like you're asshole-ness. You're bad with names... age... I'd hate to think of what you're like in bed," she turned to Amika, "I'd much rather have you do it."

"I think it was better when it was just me and the kid." Ashton handed off the medical supplies to Sleepy Head and nabbed his flashlight. He would pick out more stuff from the aisles for traveling and for his shower. He didn't want to smell like flowers or coconuts when he finished washing up. He grabbed a ton of pain reliever pills, more peroxide and antiseptic ointment. He hated planning for the worst but he was dealing with women now... Mainly Diva. Kid and Sleepy Head seemed to know what they were doing. Closer to the dark corner of the store Ashton tripped over something. From the sound of it jingling against his kick he thought it was coins. A lot of good money meant to him now.

He shined his light on the tiny box and his eyes widened to the size of dish plates. They were shot gun shells! He walked further down the aisle and discovered a decent sized pile of ammunition. So, the military must've been involved here. With so much ammo he was certain there had to be guns around. He found another backpack from the school supply section and started to look for the guns, wanting to grab only the correct ammo since their luggage had to be limited.

Amika didn't have anything else to say to Ashton but smiled at Aubrey's comment. She laid out the bandages on the silver tray next to the stretcher. The skin around her chest looked horrible and was still bleeding profusely in some places. Amika would start with those areas. She dipped her head to get a better look and started to gingerly dab the open skin.

"I didn't think my sexuality would matter to you... Now that mass populations have turned into wild cannibalistic animals." Amika piped up for conversation. She wasn't sure how Aubrey was going to steer the conversation, but anything was better than silence. Amika leaned back and plucked a big bandage from the tray. She covered part of a longer gash on Aubrey's right shoulder with it. She was trying to stay focused with the task at hand, the blood helping her, but Aubrey's lacy bra was somewhat of a distraction.

"Well, it doesn't matter. I guess I was just surprised. And I don't like surprises, unless they involve expensive gifts." Aubrey winced as Amika touched her wounds. "Ow, careful."

_'There she goes with money again.'_ Amika thought to herself.

Farrah finished her shower, changed into the scrubs, and headed back to see what her teammates were up to. She felt refreshed. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt so clean. Her hair smelled nice, like strawberries, instead of blood. It was a definite improvement and lifted her spirits considerably.

When she got back, she saw Amika was now tending to Aubrey. "First Amika, then Ashton, then Amika again? Boy, you sure get around," she joked, then perched herself on the stretcher next to the two.

"Oh, look. The little one's jealous!" Aubrey teased back. "How cute."

"According to him, it was better with just the two of you guys." Amika chuckled and glanced at Farrah with a smile. She was finished with one shoulder and picked up some ointment for the other. She was trying not to further pain Aubrey, but the wound looked so sensitive she was having a hard time.

"You feeling okay Farrah? I can work on your new bite mark if you want me to." Amika actually turned her head to get a better look at her best friend. She still looked sickly thin, but after her shower Farrah definitely looked more alive. They all did. A few weeks with no showering and constantly getting injured or vomited on would do that to a person. A second thought popped into her mind and she couldn't help herself but ask. "... Do you think any of our friends are still alive?"

"Yea, I suppose that could use some antiseptic and a bandage." She glanced down at her forearm, she had almost forgotten about the injury. "I bet Siren and Sebastien are so drugged out they don't realize anything is even happening. Morgan is pretty athletic, she might still be around. Michele and Ava are probably dead tho. Who knows about Kate. Cerina is probably loving this. She can kill as many people as she wants with no repercussions."

Amika laughed at Farrah's assumptions, but completely agreed with her.

"Yeah, Cerina is probably the one who started this whole thing just to kill. I was actually with Sebastien at the hospital when a horde showed up and we got separated. Gail probably survived the longest with her horrible driving scaring the zombies away. Miela..." Amika looked down as she trailed off after her sister's name, her line of vision falling on Aubrey's chest but she was so lost in thought she didn't notice. A pained look came across her face and for the briefest moment it looked like she was going to cry. However, Amika was above shedding tears.

Deep down she knew her sister was dead. Miela wasn't fit for hard survival like this and the two were separated at the time the infection jump started, so Amika couldn't protect her. All Amika prayed for was that Miela was with her boyfriend or she was lifeless. Amika couldn't bear the thought of her little sister's body running around killing people. Amika blinked herself back into reality and tried to smile at Farrah. She went back to fixing Aubrey to steer her mind away from the slim chance that her friends were alive.

Farrah hopped off the stretcher and gave Amika a hug, sensing the emotional turmoil she held inside. "You never know, she could be holed up somewhere. Or met someone strong enough to protect her. I mean, look at Aubrey. If she managed to survive, Miela could too."

"Aubrey's alive only because of me." Amika cracked a joke to lighten the mood she didn't mean to dampen. Her arms came around Farrah as her friend attempted to comfort her. "...Thanks Farrah."

Aubrey wasn't sure what to say. It was obvious Amika was upset, even if she tried to mask it. She settled for an awkward pat on the shoulder.

"One more band aid and you're all patched up. You should watch how you sleep on them though." Amika smiled brightly at her gesture and held one last bandage for the other girl. She finished right up in time for Ashton's entrance. Her eyes immediately brightened up and she couldn't help but steal a look from Farrah. The zombies were in for it now!

Ashton came stomping back into the light holding two backpacks of ammo and an armful of guns. He walked a safe distance from the girls and dumped the firearms onto the floor. He would start sorting out the weapons by size. He figured Sleepy Head or Kid would come by and correct him. Probably start sorting them by category. Ashton barely knew the difference between a pistol and a shotgun, he was better with melee weapons. His long reach and strength backing him up.

"I'm goin' to hit the showers." Ashton arched his back in a stretch and headed for the bathrooms.

"Good riddance," Aubrey replied, then to Farrah and Amika, "He needs a lot more than just a shower..."

Farrah walked over to check out the weapons. "Dibs on these pistols!" she called, and went searching through the backpacks for the ammo.

"Shotgun!" Amika followed after Farrah and picked up the biggest gun she could find. Amika was all about power and blasting the heads off of those things with one pull of the trigger. She bounced it in her hands a couple times to check the weight before carefully viewing the rest of it. She didn't want to pick the perfect gun and have it jam on her.

It didn't take long for Ashton to shower and wash his jeans. He came out wearing scrub pants and rubbing the blanket against his wet hair. Still no shirt. He was happy to see that the two smarter girls were picking through the weapons. He laid on one of the stretchers next to Aubrey but was obviously too tall for it.

"I'm going to check the rest of the pharmacy later. I got a bunch of medical supplies, pain pills, and gauze. I think there might be grenades over there too." He propped his hands behind his head with a grin.

"That will be helpful when we get out of here." Amika walked back to the stretcher next to Aubrey and set her gun onto the floor near it. She grabbed an unopened bottle of water Farrah must have brought up and started to drink the contents. It wasn't cold by any means, but it felt nice going down her throat.

Farrah inspected the pistols and after finding them to be sound, she loaded them and then placed them on the metal table next to her stretcher. Feeling full, clean and relatively safe, she hopped up and tried to relax. "So, what's your story anyway?" she asked Ashton conversationally.

"Uh.." Ashton hadn't been expecting that. Did it matter what his story was? He could lie and say he was some millionaire. What good would that do him though? The only plausible person he could sleep with was Sleepy Head... His eyesight slowly averted to her. She was the only one who looked old enough for him. Kid was 12 and Diva was 16. Being the end of the world and all didn't mean he lost all morals. She was beautiful but seemed- Wait, was she checking out Diva just now?

"Yea, I'm dying to know how you became such a dick," Aubrey added flippantly. "And what are you allergic to shirts?" she had grabbed another shirt from the cabinet and was now pulling it over her head.

"Haha! You _like_ her don't you?!" He couldn't refrain from commenting, completely ignoring Diva's miserable attempt at a joke. Sleepy Head was gay.. and in love with Diva?

"Excuse me?" Amika replied slowly lowering the bottle from her lips. Knowing he was addressing her because he was looking directly at her.

"Diva! Your eyes are all over her!" Ashton laughed but when his accusation was met with a scoff he frowned. He sat up slightly and raised an eyebrow at Amika with a coy smile on his lips. "You're tellin' me that you wouldn't straddle her on that stretcher if she begged you to?"

Aubrey glanced at Amika, a small smile pulling at her lips. _This is getting interesting..._

Amika had the bottle to her lips again but at Ashton's comment a visual popped into her head and she coughed on the water she was consuming. She tried to mask her apparent feelings with anger as she wiped her mouth. "Just start your fucking story already!"

"Fine! I don't know my parents. Grew up in foster homes since I was born. No one adopted me so I just jumped from house to house. Once I turned 18, I left and never looked back. Came into this city with nothin' on my back, literally, and lived on the streets since then." Ashton laid back against his hands. There was his story. "Can't really have a girlfriend when you're homeless and all of my friends are probably dead. I'm also 22. How 'bout you Kid?" He tilted his head to look back at Farrah.

"Well that explains Alot," Aubrey joked. "No wonder you lack so much in social skills."

"Aubrey, he obviously had a rough childhood. That's not something to joke about," Farrah admonished.

Aubrey merely smirked and rolled her sparkling emerald eyes in response. She turned onto her side, propping her head up with her arm. "Alright then pipsqueak, let's hear your story."

Farrah grew suddenly quiet, her lips puckering to a frown. Amika already knew her past, but she wasn't usually comfortable divulging so much to strangers. Though she supposed that given the circumstances, Ashton and Aubrey weren't really strangers anymore. Besides, Ashton had told his story. "Well, I never really knew my birth parents. They were killed when I was five and I don't remember much about them. I went through a few foster homes until I was eighteen. I've been living in an apartment with my friend Kate, going to school to be a surgeon. Then the outbreak happened. One of my professor's tipped me off that it was more than just a flu and told us all to lay low for awhile till it was under control. I kept watching the news and it got worse and worse. Then one day, there was no news. I couldn't get a hold of my friends or anyone really. The next day the Tank came and tore the place apart. You guys know the story from there." Farrah sighed as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. "And I am really twenty. I just happen to be very short." The last comment was directed towards Ashton.

"Whatever. You can fool them but not me." Ashton shrugged with a smile. "Another foster kid, eh? Looks like you survived that okay. Why were your parents murdered? Robbery in a back alley?"

Ashton's curiosity was piqued but he chuckled at his own Batman reference. At least she knew of her parents before they passed and she knew the reason for why she was put into the system. Ashton wasn't sure if it was worse to know someone and lose them or not know them at all. He had enough of those thoughts buzzing through his head when he was younger that he didn't care to think about it anymore. He felt more of a connection with Kid since she had a similar childhood as he did.

Amika stayed silent and knew Farrah's slight discomfort. She rubbed the back of her neck during Farrah's explanation and always thought it was weird how both of their parents were murdered. Farrah also now had something in common with Ashton. Her little friend was full of bonding material. She dreaded her turn but if Farrah could open up then she had to as well.

Ashton's refusal to acknowledge her real age was really starting to bother Farrah. She hated when people treated her like a child just because she was height challenged. "No seriously. I'm twenty. And if you can't accept that, then I don't really want to tell you any more about my life."

"Oooo, touchy subject," Aubrey teased, "Looks like someone's getting mad."

"Well, why don't you tell us your story then," Farrah snapped back, crossing her arms over her lovely but petite chest.

"Whatever. My parents came from money, had money, spent money. They died when I was fifteen and left me with debt. I had to sell everything to pay it off and was left with nothing. My brother, seventeen years older, had me stay with him for awhile but I couldn't stand his bitch of a wife. She was so jealous of me! When I was old enough, I moved out on my own. I worked some acting and modeling gigs here and there, made some wealthy friends... Had a pretty nice life before all this happened," Aubrey shrugged. "I didn't even realize what was happening until my housekeeper stopped showing up. I had to go out and buy groceries for myself! And the people at the store were acting so strange. I mean, usually I attract followers. But these people were trying to attack me! Then I ran into this one," she gestured to Amika, "And eventually you folk."

"Lucky us." Ashton muttered sarcastically. He did give Kid a few glances, mainly because of her attitude towards him. He couldn't help himself. Her height was the most noticeable thing about her. Just because she would hate him for making fun of her didn't mean he was going to stop. "How 'bout you over there Lesbo?"

"First of all, I'm Bisexual. I just tend to like females more because guys are usually only good for one thing." Amika stated bluntly and brought her knees up closer to her chest. She felt uneasy about telling them her past as Farrah was, but decided to get it out. They were going to have to band together and survive for as long as possible. The infection would die down eventually, right? She laughed at herself mentally for that thought. Mankind was doomed.

"Well, my childhood wasn't as bad as you guys' I guess." Amika sighed. "My dad came from a rich family, was an accountant, married my mother and had me and my little sister, Miela. I was about six at the time of their murder. I hid my little sister after I heard my mother get shot. Got adopted by a close family friend whom I called Uncle. My grandfather is-er was in charge of Reegan Enterprises, not sure if it's still standing now, and despite his monthly 'allowance' he wanted nothing to do with my sister or me." She shifted uncomfortably. She didn't like mentioning that she had a ton of money, even though that seemed to be Aubrey's one and only love. She was all for bragging about her fighting and shooting skills, but her stomach turned at the thought of how much money Miela and her inherited. They didn't really deserve it. They hadn't worked a single day before having it. It was also unlikely that her bank account would help her right away if civilization started to rebuild.

"Not in school. I have- well, had a girlfriend. I'm not sure if she's alive anymore. Farrah over there is my best friend and we've known each other practically since birth. So, like _Farrah_, I'm 20 also." Amika nodded and narrowed her eyes at Ashton for a few seconds. She knew it irked her friend to no end being called a child.

"Okay, I get it. So, sensitive these days... That's a long time to know someone." He scratched his cheek roughly. Once again, Ashton would've been the poorest person there. Didn't surprise him at all, he was homeless. It would've been him then Kid and then Diva and Bi would tie for first. "Well, I don't know about you girls but I'm off to sleep."

Ashton closed his eyes and would be snoring quietly in a matter of minutes. He would shift on his stretcher throughout the night, unable to find a comfortable position for his body. He would curse those stretchers in the morning.

"You really didn't know until you had to go out and buy your own groceries?" Amika asked somewhat hopeful that Aubrey was lying. "I was in the hospital when it happened. Got into a car accident with one of my friends. He was hopped up on some pills and yelled something about a Giraffe before hitting me. I just got banged up a little. We were on our way in when a couple patients went berserk and attacked the staff, who eventually attacked more patients, who eventually attacked more staff... and so on and so forth. Thank god I got out of there alive." Amika shuddered at the memory and of having to run for her life with her sore limbs and scraped up skin.

"Yea. Like I waste my time watching the news," Aubrey rolled her eyes, tossing her silky dark hair over her shoulder and then rolling to her back. "Whatever. All this is getting boring; I'd rather get some beauty sleep." She shut her eyes, trying to shove back the memories and pain she could feel rising to the surface. She had loved her housekeeper, Agnes, more than her own mother. She had comforted her when she was troubled, wiped her tears when she was sad, took care of her when she was sick, fed her, cleaned up after her, even brushed her hair before she went to sleep. She was the only person she had ever felt comfortable confiding she had stopped showing up, Aubrey had felt lost and abandoned. She was the only other person in the world she had ever trusted and truly cared about who had cared the same, if not more, for her. Wet tears snuck from her lids and she quickly wiped them back before anyone could see. She sighed, falling into a deep and troubled sleep.

"Let me guess, it was Siren or Sebastien?" Farrah asked, ignoring Aubrey. The girl was the epitome of egocentric and clearly all the beauty was a mask for the lack of brains. Farrah was doing her best to stay amicable, but the girl was really riding on her nerves. She went to grab a couple more blankets. "You need one?" she asked Amika as she settled herself onto the stretcher. Seeing as everyone else was starting to sleep, she figured she would join in.

"Sebastien and please.. I'm glad we found each other. I knew you'd still be alive. You and Cerina are the only ones I was sure of." Amika laughed quietly and accepted the blanket Farrah retrieved for her. She settled into the stretcher and closed her eyes.


	5. Chapter V  Car Trouble

Characters belong to us, everything else belongs to Valve

Chapter V – Car Trouble

Farrah found it difficult to get any sleep that night. What with Ashton's sporadic snoring, random shouting and comments from Aubrey who apparently was still sleeping as she did it, and the fear of infected somehow getting in, she tossed and turned all night and woke up feeling like she hadn't slept at all.

She sat up, rubbing the kink she now had in her neck, and glanced at her sleeping comrades. Aubrey had kicked off all her blankets and was no longer wearing her shirt or pants. And there was a handful of candy wrappers piled around her sleeping body. Farrah noticed some brown substance on her fingers and hoped to god it was chocolate. Amika looked almost angelic in her sleep. _It's like putting a candy wrapper on poison. Very misleading..._ Farrah noticed Ashton was still asleep as well, finding his snoring to be extremely irritating. She hopped off the stretcher in search of Tylenol and instant coffee.

Amika was the next to arise and mumbled a greeting to Farrah on her way to the bathroom. Ashton suddenly sat up and his fists were in position like he had a baseball bat in them. Looking around and becoming more aware of his surroundings he stretched with a yawn before kicking off of his stretcher. He licked his lips and tasted... Chocolate? He nodded his head to Bi as she reentered the room. The look she gave him caused him to scowl.

"Sorry I'm not Diva. Geez, I thought you would be less moody after you got some sleep." He became offensive immediately. Amika continued to stare at him like he was an alien before she burst into a fit of laughter.

"Who-...Who- Hhahaha!" Amika couldn't give an explanation between breaths. She was doubled over with her arms wrapped around her torso.

"The hell are you talkin' about!?" Ashton growled and turned to look at Kid as if she had any answers. His upper lip was coated with chocolate and there were some splotches of it around his cheeks and eyebrow. His incredibly serious face added to the hilarity of it all.

Farrah took one look at Ashton's face and burst out with laughter. "Look... mirror..." she gasped between breaths. She couldn't stop laughing. Every time she glanced at Ashton, or saw how hard Amika was laughing, she started right back up. It was the funniest thing she had seen in a long time. "Oh my gosh, that was too funny," she sighed when she finally calmed down. She wiped the tears from her eyes and glanced at Aubrey, still fast asleep. Her legs seemed to be twitching like a dog that's running in its sleep. Her blue eyes fell once again on Aubrey's chocolate covered fingers, putting two and two together. "Aubrey must have done that in her sleep!"

Once Farrah pointed out that it was Aubrey's doing Amika laughed all over again. Ashton stomped past Amika and into the bathroom. His cursing moments later filled the air and the sound of the shower turning on. He yelped loudly and made a point to say that he would send cold water to hell. Amika finally calmed down and was glad that they could still have a good time despite the zombies stumbling around outside.

"Fuckin' hilarious..." Amika calmed down and she wanted to inspect Aubrey's fingers closer. She noticed instantly that Aubrey was in her skimpy lingerie again and Amika raised an eyebrow at Farrah. "I think she's chasing a mailman in her sleep."

Amika walked up to Aubrey and gently shook Aubrey's shoulder. When nothing happened Amika frowned and shook just a little bit harder. This continued to build for several moments until Amika was shaking her so hard Aubrey's head kept bouncing off of the stretcher. "WAKE THE FUCK UP!"

"You're going to give her more brain damage!" Farrah gasped, grabbing Amika's arms.

"Mmmm..." Aubrey woke slowly. She stretched and yawned sleepily. She turned onto her side, settling back into her pillow, blinking her eyes as she adjusted to the light. For a moment she had thought she was back home, but the past couple weeks events came storming back. She rolled back over, feeling something crumpling beneath her, scratching her back. Sitting up, she realized it was over a dozen assorted candy wrappers. Confusion riddled her face until she remembered the dream she'd had. She giggled, turning to Farrah and Amika.

"You know, I had the strangest dream. I was in this candy eating contest. I won, but the judge was being so nasty and kept saying I cheated. He stole all my prize money. So I went to his house and stole it back and left this chocolate mustache on his face so he'd know not to mess with me! But then on the way home, these animals started chasing me because they smelled chocolate on me and they kept biting on my clothes so I had to rip them off to get away..." she looked down, suddenly realizing she was no longer wearing her scrubs. "Did I happen to mention I have a tendency to sleepwalk?" she hopped off the stretcher, searching for the scrubs. "Do you guys see my clothes anywhere?"

Amika and Farrah froze in their position during Aubrey's explanation. Amika gained control of her arms again and stepped away from Farrah. Amika smiled coyly at Aubrey. "Are you sure you really need them?"

Aubrey raised her eyebrow at Amika's comment but didn't reply as she continued searching for her clothes. It turned out they were in a heap in one of the aisles. She slipped them back on, grabbing a nearby backpack and then started to pack up some things she thought she might need later.

Ashton came in grumbling and wiping the water from his face. He was clear from any chocolate and he went for the pile of jerky that had accumulated. He figured that they should begin to head out in search for some help. He heard a helicopter circling the city a few days ago in search for survivors. He was wary of it at first but with his new teammates maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to scope it out. He was sure there was a facility that took care of uninfected needs and protected people from the threat of the zombies.

"I think we should be packing up and getting ready to go. I don't want to run out of luck and end up dying in a CVS." He advised. Once his eyes laid on Diva he rolled them, both at the fact that she must've been the one to have given him his chocolate makeover and that she was naked... again. He opted to hand Kid some fruit snacks. "Here Kid, eat up."

"Thanks," Farrah replied, ripping the package open as she began to munch away. Ashton filled a bag full of ammo for his assault rifle and packed in his medical supplies in it as well. He tossed in some jerky to top it off. Once satisfied he would start inching towards the door, becoming a little impatient if the girls took too long.

Aubrey struggled with her bag. She had taken at least one of every cosmetic and hygiene product she could find along with snacks, vitamins, pills, ammo, first aid, extra clothes... It was bulky and heavy, but she couldn't bear to part with any of the items she had gathered. Finally managing to get it on, she picked up her gun and joined Ashton at the door.

"Everyone ready?" Farrah asked, her own bag rather light compared to the rest. She had taken the bare minimum, not wanting her movement to be hindered during an attack. She had a pistol in each hand.

Amika slipped her bag over her head so the strap came across her body and she shifted the new weight between her feet. Her luggage contained shotgun ammo, pain pills, gauze, and snacks of her own. The gang left the safe house behind and trudged through the city. Amika had her new shotgun resting at her hip and her pistol was drawn. Farrah and herself picked off most of the infected from a distance so it was fairly easy for them to move around. It was easier to see in the daylight as well. Though the same could be said of the infected.

"Hey... Cover me." Ashton squinted his eyes in the distance before jogging up to a truck sitting in the middle of an intersection. The driver's door was wide open and Ashton checked the bed in the back to make sure it was clear. He poked his head in and waved his team over. He glanced around before calling out to them. "Hey! Keys are in the ignition. This could be our ticket out of here!"

"Shotty!" Aubrey shouted, climbing into the front passenger seat as she slung her heavy bag to the floor.

"Will it start?" Farrah asked, hesitant to get her hopes up. She glanced around, on the lookout for any infected that may have seen or heard them.

"Yes!" Ashton yelled as the car started. He jumped into the drivers seat and slammed the door. "Lets go!"

"Idiot.." Amika said through gritted teeth and started to quickly make her way to the truck bed. Ashton's celebrating alerted some of the surrounding zombies and they started to swiftly head towards the rumbling vehicle. She hopped in the bed after making four headshots.

"Lets go baby!" He grinned and revved the engine before slamming his foot on the gas. The car lurched forward and Amika tumbled backward. The car sped for about half a block until the engine killed and it slowed to a stop in the next intersection. Ashton kept pushing the gas but to no avail. He looked at the gas meter and it was past E. There were a dozen zombies running up to the truck.

"Why are you stopping!?" Farrah cried, rolling down her window so she could take aim at the approaching zombies.

Aubrey leaned over, glaring at the arrow that was dangling below the E. "Ran out of fucking gas!" she cursed. "You couldn't have noticed that before you attracted the infected?"

"We're going to have to continue on foot then, unless we can find some gas." Farrah glanced at the crew before opening her door, continuing firing behind the safety of the door. Between Amika and herself, they got rid of the immediate infected.

The coast now clear, Aubrey hopped out, struggling to get her pack over her shoulders once more. "Stupid bag..." she muttered under her breath, only managing to slip one slender arm through the straps. She stumbled, losing her balance, until she caught herself on a nearby vehicle. The alarm sounded, stabbing into the silence of the street. Aubrey quickly moved away, but the damage was done. She could hear the horde in the distance. "My bad..." was her sheepish response.

"God damn it!" Ashton got out of the truck and shoved the keys into his pocket. He swung his gun in front of him and aimed horribly at the posse of zombies that started to pour into the street. They were coming from everywhere. Climbing out of windows, sprinting from the alley, and turning the corners in mass quantities.

They hadn't even left the safe house for two hours and Amika was already irritated. Thank god Farrah was with her or she would've seriously considered suicide. She leapt out of the back and managed to kill six or seven before a Hunter made its presence known. Her gun went a bit higher to find the hooded infected.

Aubrey tossed her bag back into the truck and frantically tried to defend herself. But the infected were pouring in from all directions. She wondered where the hell they had all come from, seeing as the streets had been relatively deserted just moments ago. They were moving so fast, it was hard to aim at just one so she settled on randomly firing into the swarm.

"Hunter!" Amika yelled to her teammates once she located him. He was too fast for her and every time she got a good shot he would jump somewhere else. She needed to kill it before it pounced on someone. A pile of bodies surrounded Farrah, but it seemed the more she took down, the more kept on coming. At Amika's shout, she glanced up, horrified to see the Hunter leaping her way. She raised her pistols to aim, but she was out of ammo.

"RAHHHHH-" The Hunter had locked its target on the short blond but in mid flight a rifle erupted through the air and the special infected became limp and slid to a halt inches away from Farrah's shoes.

"You lucky son of a- Ahh!" Ashton blinked in disbelief at the dead Hunter before Kid but was grabbed by a few infected while his back was turned. He was bit in the shoulder but he used his gun to knocked them back. He wasn't any good at shooting with the thing so he started swinging it around like a melee weapon.

"Thanks Amika!" Farrah cried, relieved that it had been taken down before it reached her.

"... Uhm, wasn't me." Amika muttered but was glad the Hunter was taken care of. She went back to her focus of covering Aubrey's back. She loved her new shotgun and the way it blasted holes through the scurrying zombies.

"Then who was it?" Farrah called back, quickly reloading as more infected approached. Aubrey was randomly shooting and didn't seem to be hitting much of anything. Ashton had infected on his back. So if Amika hadn't done it, who else was there?

"Aaaahh!" Aubrey shrieked as the zombies got closer. She was frantically whipping them back with her gun, but they had her backed now against the truck. "Heeelp!" She knocked back another wave of infected and then scrambled up into the truck bed.

"I would but I have problems of my own!" Amika had to kick a zombie away from her and her gun was empty of bullets. She fell back to her pistol and tried to make the most of what ammo she had. There was no time to reload and that meant trouble when 12 gnashing zombies were mere feet from her. A pipe bomb beeped about a block away from the truck and caught the attention of the horde. The majority of them ran after it like it was fresh meat. The other half a dozen got lead filled in their brains and they collapsed to the ground.

"Hey guys! I was bit but I didn't change! I think I'm Immu-" Blood suddenly spilled from his forehead and he slowly fell to his knees before falling forward onto his face.

"SHIT! Ashton!" Amika ran around the truck. She kicked him over and looked fearful at the bullet lodged into his head. It was shot with precise aim. Amika looked up and around the buildings, was it a sniper? They obviously were being watched since Ashton died immediately after the news of his bite.

"Oh my god! Ashton!" Farrah cried running over to her fallen teammate. Blood poured from his wound onto the pavement; his eyes staring blankly ahead. She knew at once that not even a defib could bring him back. Tears filled her eyes and she sank to her knees. Sure she hadn't liked his calling her kid all the time but he had saved her life at one point and he'd started to grow on her. Eyes shining bright with tears, she glanced around wondering who on earth had shot him.

Aubrey gazed at Ashton's fallen form in shock hoping it hadn't been her terrible aim that was to blame. A sick part of her felt satisfied that he was dead since he was after all incorrigibly rude to her. And if he had been bitten as he had said then he was better off dead anyways.

"Why do you guys look so sad? I just saved your lives." A beautiful yet domineering voice reached their ears and an equally beautiful woman stepped out from the shadows with a sniper rifle laid across her shoulders and behind her neck. She looked picture perfect with her thick black locks pulled back though a few loose strands framed her face. A red halter top hugged her big bust and tight black jeans clung to the curves of her legs and hips. Leave it to Cerina to still look airbrushed and dazzling during the fall of mankind. She walked over to Ashton's corpse, practically stepping over Farrah carelessly, and a sick satisfied smile pulled up her full lips.

"Not all of them," Farrah glared pointedly, not at all pleased to see Cerina. While Farrah always tried to see the best in people, she had come to believe a long time ago that Cerina was the devil-incarnate. She found a sick pleasure in manipulating and tormenting others, and Farrah suspected she had even gone so far as murder. And worst of all, the twisted girl had _liked _it.

"The gracious Cerina has to make an unwanted appearance." Amika applauded sarcastically. This didn't seem to go over well with the acclaimed killer and she stepped forward to press her rifle against Amika's forehead. The taller girl sighed and looked annoyed instead of afraid.

"How about you? You been bit?" Cerina's tone deepened into a snarl and her pretty demeanor turned frightening, something Amika had witnessed one too many times.

"Who the hell are you?" Aubrey asked somewhat incredulously. The girl was gorgeous and powerful, a combination Aubrey felt herself to possess. But Cerina seemed to have perfected it to a T. Her eyes gazed after her in awe, twisting into a frown when she held the gun to Amika's head.

"We've all been bit. We're immune," Farrah pointed out, echoing the statement Ashton had been saying as he'd met his death. "Are you?" Her fingers itched to fire her pistol, but she knew if she did it would more likely end up with her death than Cerina's.

"_Please_, as if I'd allow my body to become scarred up like yours." Cerina lowered her gun and as she turned her eyes rolled to look at Farrah with agitation. She wasn't careless like them. Cerina would rather watch a three legged puppy die a painful death before surrendering her perfect body to those shambling things.

"Right, like I just let this happen. They probably just think you're one of them so they leave you alone..." Farrah muttered low enough that Cerina wouldn't hear.

"Well, I guess we'll never know if Ashton was immune or not." Amika cast her eyes on their fallen friend. Yeah, he was an asshole but she knew that he was probably a big softie on the inside... or not, but she was still sad to see him dead.

"Either way, he sounded like an idiot from what I heard." Cerina glanced over to Aubrey as if just noticing there was another person around. She gave her a quick once over, deeming her as insignificant for now, before bending down to pick the truck keys from Ashton's pocket. "Isn't there a gas station near here?"

"Major dumbass," Aubrey agreed with Cerina, once again trying to lift her bag out of the truck and back onto her shoulders.

"There was one not too far down the road before Ashton and I blew it up," Farrah replied, glaring at Aubrey. Cerina was bad enough on her own, she didn't need someone else encouraging her evilness. "I don't know of any others."

"Fucking perfect." Cerina sighed with a heavily irritated tone. She continued to pick through Ashton's pockets and his bag. She didn't really need more ammo and she wasn't going to take the medical supplies. She wanted to kick him for wasting her time and not having anything that she wanted.

"What now? We're stuck back to square one now, just with less ammo." Amika leaned her back on the truck and slipped her shotgun shells into her weapon. If they had survived this long then they had a fighting chance. They just needed a goal. Were people being evacuated still? She heard the military got involved, so did they have any plans of action?

"We need to get out of the city. It's been like this for a couple weeks now, so the problem isn't going away and they might just start bombing the city to get rid of the infected." Amika voiced some of her thoughts to weigh some options with her comrades.

Cerina didn't have anything to say and began to reload her rifle. She was apparently becoming bored and needed some unfortunate event to occur. She could throw Farrah at a car and set off the alarm to attract more infected... That wouldn't sit well with Amika and a fight would ensue. Her dark eyes flicked over to the blond, a menacing smile on her face. Maybe she _should_ throw her then?

Her thoughts were interrupted when a distant noise was heard. It sounded like the propelling of a helicopter. That was odd. She looked up to the air to confirm what her ears were hearing. The glimmer of hope that this helicopter would bring made her want to shoot Farrah so the feelings of sadness and anger would resurface

Farrah was watching Cerina, her expression growing more and more suspicious. She knew the girls penchant for destruction and knew she'd have to watch her back every second until they would get rid of her. Even as the helicopter flew overhead she did not look away. Amika gave Cerina a slightly confused expression, wondering what she was looking at but the noise finally reached her ears and she looked up as well.

"A helicopter!" Aubrey cried, "I wonder where it's headed I think the hospital is obtuse direction."

"To anyone who can hear this, proceed to Mercy Hospital for evacuation. You will be airlifted to the military safe zone up north. Call me on the radio when you get there." A male voice rang out from a speakers system. They repeated themselves a few times as they circled the sky scrapers. "News Chopper Five out."

"Do you even know what obtuse means?" Cerina asked with an attitude but she walked down the street. She looked around wondering if the chopper's announcement alerted any infected.

"I think it's worth a shot. I say we head to Mercy Hospital." Amika nodded and looked like she had already made up her mind.

Characters  
><strong>Cerina Wolff<strong>  
>Age: 18<br>Height: 5'4"  
>Ref: Susan Ward<p> 


	6. Chapter VI  Cherry Bomb

Characters  
><strong>Blair Spivey<strong>  
>Age: 19<br>Height: 5'5"  
>Ref: Olivia Wilde<p>

**Cherry Ferrera**  
>Age: 21<br>Height: 5'5"  
>Ref: JessiKa Violet<p>

Characters belong to us, everything else is copyright to Valve

Chapter VI – Cherry Bomb

It was a couple weeks after the first sightings of the infection. Blair had gotten separated from another survivor more or less on accident. She had held her own for awhile until a Hunter began to stalker her. She ran into the safety of a tall apartment building and began her long journey to the top. She figured she could try to hail a helicopter or move about the rooftops. The zombies appeared to be incredibly stupid and didn't know how to work ladders or doors. Her only game plan was to reach the top. Once she got there she wouldn't have a clue of where to go or really what to do. If she could even make it to the top floor.

She was running out of bullets and fast. She wasn't an expert shooter by any means, not being a huge fan of video games or action movies. She had been dragged along to a shooting range once thanks to her girlfriend and her mate's best friend, Amika and Farrah. Her impeccable memory was definitely a big help when dealing with the firearm. She also had received some lessons just before losing contact with her partner. She knew about the safety feature, how to reload, and how to check for bullets. Her only problem was getting her muscles used to the motions of those to move through them quick enough to survive.

She peered around the corner before she quickly pulled herself back. She blinked a few times and carefully tilted her head around the edge of the wall. Her bluish green eyes surveyed about eight shambling people(if she could still call them that anymore) and she pulled out her last handgun clip. She knew she couldn't take on all of them and if she tried to shoot she would only alert even more of them to her location. She inhaled a deep breath and tried to find a quieter route around them.

Suddenly a casting sound was heard and a slimy tongue wrapped around her torso. The air rushed out of her lungs so quickly she couldn't scream as she was pulled off of her feet. Was this one of those.. Cigarettes.. Exhalers...Smokers..? It had been called a few things in her travels. She heard about mutant infected but hadn't come across any of them until now. She struggled against the long muscle but felt her doom approaching quickly.

Cherry had been having an awesome time. When news of the outbreak began to spread, she went where she always went in times of crisis- the Pub. What better way to drown her qualms than in the bottom of few beers? With her beer goggles in place and drunken stupor engaged, she hit the streets only to discover her favorite video game come to life. Panic everywhere, hard core violence, zombies, blood, guts, and random fire... The only thing she was missing was a weapon and a sidekick. The hunt began.

As the police and government agents backed out of the city, it became easier to locate supplies. Often times safe houses were abandoned and other outposts were left fully stocked as they were abandoned in haste or were simply overrun. She found lots of new toys to mess around with. Her favorites were the grenades and pipe bombs- they were better than fireworks! Occasionally she had to stop for rest, stock up on food and liquor- which was quite difficult to locate the more time passed, and more ammo. The only thing missing was still her sidekick.

Weeks had passed in this manner. As she continued her search for survivors, she felt sure her purpose was to exterminate the rampant, flesh eating carnivores. It never seemed too difficult for her, but perhaps it was all luck. Each time she felt would be her last, she happened across some supplies or a last minute plan of escape. This solidified the belief in her purpose. Why else should she be so lucky?

She had slowly been navigating the inner city but it seemed a hopeless place to find survivors. It had spread so quickly here, it was amazing she hadn't gotten the sickness. She figured it was time to head to the 'burbs, but she'd do one last scavenge in the city before she left. Mercy Hospital was the only bigger location she hadn't hit up and she figured it was time. She had avoided it at the start due to its high traffic but since there seemed to be no survivors or newly infected, she figured it wouldn't be the hell hole it had been. She tried to determine the best route there. Lots of streets had been barricaded or were impassable due to bombs, crashes, etc. As she debated, she rounded the corner of an apartment complex. Movement on the third floor alerted her attention, followed by gunshots. She wondered what was going on up there.

"Only one way to find out..." she murmured to herself, putting her ear-buds in. She checked the ammo in her shotty, placed a couple grenades and pipe bombs within reach around her vest- one she had plucked off Vet- an elderly zombie man decked out in his old army gear, clicked play on her iPod and entered the building. She laughed as "Down with the Sickness" sounded in her ears. The sound alerted a few zombies. As they began to give chase, she skillfully cut them down with a couple shots.

Carefully, she navigated the building to the approximate area where she had seen the movement. As she rounded the corner at the end of the hall, she couldn't believe her eyes. She saw a Smoker and a handful of zombies. But more amazingly, a human. A seemingly uninfected, weapon carrying, live human! "What the..."

She blinked, trying to focus on the situation at hand. Afterall, there were still infected present. Yet, they weren't paying attention to her. She heard the cast of the Smoker's tongue as it honed in on the other survivor. Shotgun blasts filled the air as she attacked. Blood and gore exploded due to the close range of fire. Wiping the gore off her violet ski goggles, an aid she deemed necessary when using the shotgun, she aimed at the Smoker and pulled the trigger.

Blair heard the blasts coming in and thanked whatever higher power that brought on this person. The Smoker exploded all over her and her lungs filled with its acidic gas as she gasped for breath when she hit the floor. Her lungs and eyes burned as she maneuvered out of the slimy appendage and came to a shaky stand. Blair coughed a couple times before being knocked into by a random infected. She stumbled forward and was blessed she didn't receive a bite, the contact itself made her skin crawl and she had to throw herself in another direction to narrowly avoid touching the other woman.

Blair had a phobia of people coming in contact with her skin. She didn't even let her family members hug her at holidays and avoided touching at all costs during the day, save for a limited number of people who she had grown comfortable around. Her pistol was still clutched tightly in her hand and she pivoted around and shot one of the zombies in the shoulder. Her aim was getting better... Still coughing into her hand she fell behind this pink haired woman and let her take over with her shotgun.

Cherry finished off the last of the nearby infected and paused to refill her ammo. When it seemed there were no more headed their way, she turned her eyes to survey the girl.

"You alright?" she asked.

"Yeah... I think so. I might've just gotten cancer though." Blair's coughing calmed and she had wiped off the Smokers blood from her skin. Looking at the adrenaline junkie she thought she was beautiful including the dirt. Being a photographer she appreciated finer details about people.

"Thanks for saving my life. I'm Blair Spivey, used to be local photographer." She gave her a winning smile and took note of Cherry's battle ready appearance. She had truly lucked out with this partner. Her now dark grey eyes began to slowly come to life with blue.

"Cherry Ferrera, I'd offer you my hand but I haven't had a shower in about a week. Hope you don't mind," Cherry replied, a wry smile on her lips. The girl seemed very damsel-in-distress-ish and she could tell just by looking at the way she held her gun that it was not something she was comfortable using.

"Good..." She breathed a sigh of relief, "Sorry, I have a touch phobia..."

"So Snow White, let me guess, you got separated from the pack?" Cherry couldn't imagine she'd stayed alive this whole time without help.

"Couple days ago actually.. I found a fire escape map and I've been following it towards the rooftop to get a good look at the city and where to head next." Blair explained herself. She checked her gun during the process before looking up to Cherry.

"Do you think you would have ammo for this?" She awkwardly held the gun out to the pink dread haired girl.

"You're not gonna find much out there," Cherry warned her, "I been all around the city. It's crawling with those bastards and not much else. Military has all backed out- if they weren't killed before they had the chance," she examined the gun Blair handed her and then passed it back, "I don't have anything that'll suit that but I'm headed for Mercy. If you wanna tag along, you might find somethin' along the way."

"Oh.." Blair cast her eyes down. Everyone had put their hope in the military and _she_ had outlasted them?

"I would be honored to tag along with you. Wait, Mercy hospital? I thought that place got overrun first.." She looked back up to Cherry, her eyes a little hopeful again. She took back her gun and turned the safety on before tucking it between her jeans and lower back.

"I never said it wouldn't be dangerous," Cherry shrugged. She walked down the hall and glanced out the window overlooking the street below. Dusk was approaching. They'd need to find shelter for the night soon. "But I'd like to search for more supplies and what better place is there to look than ground zero?"

"Yeah, maybe we can pick up medicine and bandages while we're at it." Blair followed her down the hall.

Flashing her stormy eyes on her new companion, Cherry smiled mischievously. "And I bet you could use some practice against those zombastards. It's a win-win."

"Practice makes perfect, I just need more bullets." Blair laughed sheepishly. More zombies would only show up if they stayed in that hallway. She was sure Cherry's shotgun attracted attention, it was fairly loud. She scratched her cheek for a moment before an idea lit up her features.

"Hey, want to go back to that apartment room I was in. Maybe we can find a way into the apartments next to it without disturbing other infected.." Blair piped up with her question, gesturing towards the stairs that would take them there. Cherry agreed and Blair led the way back from where she came. The stairway had dead bodies littered about, sprawled on the landing, hanging off of railings, and laying with their arms stretched out on the stairs themselves.

Cherry surveyed the carnage with mild admiration, "Nice."

"See, I don't do so bad." Blair looked back to Cherry with a big smirk. She began to open the door when she smelt the overwhelming stench of death and heard a burp. She quickly closed the door with a wince. "I think there's a Boomer in there.. the fat guys that puke. Have you encountered those yet?"

"That's what those fat bastards are called? I've come across a couple. Pretty easy to knock out as long as you're far enough back when you shoot," Cherry walked towards the door and the smell hit her nostrils. She motioned for Blair to move out of the way and then crouched low in front of the door. Then, with the tip of her shotgun she quickly shoved the door open. The Boomer was in the back corner of the room, partly disguised by shadows. She took aim and fired as the Boomer began to move. Guts and puke sprayed the room.

"All clear," she called after she checked out the rest of the room. Blair stumbled back from the blast and fell back on her butt. She felt like puking from the smell and the sound of the fluids as they hit the wall. She slowly got up, gagging as she did so.

"Good job.." She dusted herself off but her head perked up as if she heard something.

"Hear that?... I think.. it sounds like someone is crying." Blair started to head down the hallway, opening doors as she did so. She killed two stray infected when she opened one door but there didn't seem to be too many zombies on the floor.

Cherry heard the soft sobs and a bad feeling prickled up the back of her spine. She had encountered plenty in the last few weeks, but crying? Anyone dumb enough to alert the zombies by way of tears should have already been dead and anyone badass enough to survive this long certainly wouldn't be wasting time wallowing.

"Slow down Snow," Cherry called, letting the girl stay ahead as she reloaded her weapon. "I'm willing to bet whatever you find won't be human."

As they neared the end of the hallway, the crying got louder. There was only one door left that Blair had yet to open. Cherry glanced at her companion, wondering whether she'd have the guts to take the lead or would look to her to go first. Blair inhaled a shaky breath as her hand neared the door knob. This was the last door and the crying sounded the loudest on the other side. Her body tensed and she felt a shiver run down her spine.

"You have the bigger gun... If it's not human you can take it out faster." Blair backed out at the last second. She was nowhere near prepared for this sort of survivor living style. She took a few steps back for Cherry to take the lead. Cherry didn't reply, but pulled her goggles back down over her eyes and approached the door which she noted was slightly ajar. The crying seemed to get louder, as if whatever was in there sensed their presence.

While Blair was held back by her fear, Cherry was feeding off her own. Heart beating faster, she kicked the door aside and charged in. As if irritated by her presence, the crying turned to aggravated shrieking. The room was disguised by shadows and although she could tell what direction the sound was coming from, she was unable to make out the creature producing it. Ripping her flashlight from her vest, she tossed it without looking in Blair's direction. "Shine it over there," she pointed with her gun, "Let's figure out what the hell we're dealing with."

Blair did as she was told and felt her soul shrivel up. The creature that she exposed had begun to rise up and the growl in the back on her throat began to get louder. Blair had stopped breathing but she let out a yelp as her eyes took in the mutated creature.

"Ch-Cherry!" Blair finally yelled just as the Witch released a high pitched scream.

"Clearly it doesn't like the spotlight," Cherry murmured as she took fire. Even as her shotgun blasts tore through her flesh, the Witch howled and sprinted towards them. "Fuck back up!" Cherry cried as she stumbled backwards, still firing. "What the hell is this thing?" she wondered aloud.

As they quickly retreated, the flashlight shone across the floor to the left of the door. In her peripheral vision she saw the shiny red side of a gas container. Shoving Blair roughly down the hallway, she then took aim just as the Witch reached the doorway. The explosion threw her backwards into the wall of the hallway, slamming her head into the wood. Stars pricked into her vision as the fire covered special infected collapsed a mere foot away.

Blair was further down the hallway after Cherry shoved her, skin tingling in the area she was touched. Blair huddled close to the wall and covered her head during the explosion. Having lost the flashlight there wasn't much light aside from the flames consuming the Witch. She slowly unraveled herself and turned her head to look at the demon girl she had just been face to face with. Her heart felt like it was still up in her throat but a groaning caused her attention to spark up.

Her grey eyes roamed the hall on both sides, looking for zombies but there were none in sight. She started to inch towards Cherry, shaken up but wanting to help. The noise was made again and she jerked to a stop then her eyes caught the sight of the burning wood. She realized the explosion had done more damage to the apartment then maybe Cherry had anticipated. The doorway shifted and Blair rushed up to Cherry. Her body did a hesitant dance as she wondered where to grab her before reaching forward and pulling her shotgun until Cherry was on her feet.

"We need to get out-" Blair's voice was drowned out as the neighboring room exploded as well. Blair figured there must have been more gas tanks located in that room. Her mind brought up the map of the apartment and she nodded for Cherry to follow her as she sprinted down past the flames.

"Right behind ya!" Cherry called in response. Her head was pounding fiercely but she forced herself to follow Blair through the blazing apartment building. They managed to make it out of the apartment building relatively quickly thanks to Blair's memory of the layout.

"It's times like these I wish I had marshmallows," Cherry grinned, turning to Blair as the apartment building blazed with fire behind them. Her head was still pounding so she pulled her flask from her pack and took a long drink, its contents burning down the back of her throat. She offered the flask to Blair.

Blair actually laughed for the first time in what felt like years, though she nodded. She looked shocked at the flask as if Cherry were extending a purple ferret towards her. She took it and swallowed a tiny bit of it. Her face scrunched up and her body shivered from the burn and taste. She handed it back as she wiped the back of her mouth.

"So much for the rooftop.. You said Mercy hospital was a saving grace?" Blair began to look around their surroundings, making sure the coast was clear. "I think the subway might be our safest route there. It gives us a lot of cover."

Cherry had to hold back a chuckle at Blair's expression while she took a drink, but her amusement waned at the thought of the subway.

"Well, do you have any better ideas?" Blair cocked her head to the side. Cherry didn't seem to have any other suggestions so Blair lead her towards an entrance to the underground tunnels. They didn't encounter many special infected along the way but there were a lot of the plain human looking ones. Blair was getting slightly better at her aim, even saving Cherry from a few close calls.

Cherry was more and more impressed with Blair as time went on. It seemed that she picked up on things relatively quickly. Still, the fear of going into the subway tunnel occupied her thoughts. She wasn't sure if she should tell Blair, but she was extremely claustrophobic. It wasn't the darkness or the unknown that scared the hell out of her, but it was the fear of being confined in the small subway passage that made her want to crap in her pants.

As they descended the stairs into the subway Blair held the only light source Cherry would have to shoot down a few infected but for the most part it seemed fairly desolate. Blair found a subway map and studied it for a moment. She then turned around and shone her light in a couple of directions. Cherry wiped the sweat that was dripping from her brow with her sleeve. Every little sound seemed to her like the walls caving in. Was it her imagination, or were they getting narrower the farther they went in? It seemed they were moving before her eyes. She forced herself to take a few deep breaths as she closed her eyes. As she opened them, the walls leaped closer yet again. "Ah shit," she whispered, trying not to panic.

"This way." She started off confidently, not noticing Cherry's growing anxiousness. The darkness scared her, but she had a secure feeling knowing exactly where she was going. She stepped back a bit after halfway through the tunnel. She shone her light on Cherry, once she was certain that there weren't any infected around.

"Okay, it's only a little bit farther. We just have to- Cherry, are you okay?" Blair finally took notice to Cherry's lack of composure. She stepped closer, but wanted to keep her distance in case Cherry would suddenly latch onto her. It was odd watching the fiery pink haired woman acting so skittish. It was at that moment her green eyes caught movement behind Cherry's shoulder and her light shone on a Boomer.

Panic rising, Cherry's whole body was trembling and dripping with sweat. "Did you... did you... s-s-see that!" Cherry choked out, barely able to breathe. They were closing in around her. "The walls! The walls!" she cried as she bolted back towards the entrance of the tunnel.

"Walls!? Cherry, there's a Boomer behind you! Shoot it!" Blair pointed at the massive bulge of fat that was stationed behind Cherry. Her eyes filled with grey as she watched her newly made friend run off. What was her problem!?

Cherry forced herself to stop as her mind registered what Blair was saying. Turning, she saw the Boomer as it wobbled closer. The walls still shrinking, his fat body consumed the entire space before her. Fear bubbled within her as she stumbled backwards. Every fiber of her being itched to run as she quaked with terror. Opening her mouth to scream, instead bile rose from her throat. She couldn't keep it down and turned to Blair in misery only to throw up on her friend. "S-s-sorry Snow!"

It was that moment the Boomer attacked, projectile vomiting on Blair as well, though only getting the side of her body. Cherry raised her gun, forcing her feet to remain firm and pulled the trigger. The Boomer exploded, the force of it causing her to stagger backwards. But it was too late, the zombies were alerted of their presence and Cherry could hear the howling cries of the impending horde. Seeing hundreds of the living dead running towards them was too much for her claustrophobic mind. She passed out cold.

"Uh! Uhm!.. Cher.. Fuck!" After Blair fought the urge to puke herself she stumbled back from the blast as well. She felt slimy, warm, and damp all over. She didn't even know when she could shower next! She fired her pistol until she ran out of bullets, but with the flashlight as her only light source she didn't do much to the crowd. Her breathing was quick and in spurts and she felt herself being consumed by dread. This was it.. She had survived this long only to die with puke all over her. She turned and faced the horde as it howled and gnashed at her. At least she wouldn't go out as a coward.


	7. Chapter VII Collapse

Characters belong to us, everything else belongs to Valve

Chapter VII – Collapse

Cerina decided to tag along with her old "friends", though she had completely different reasons for doing so than any normal person would. This way, she had less of a chance of running out of ammo since she could rely more on their bullets, she had bait, and now she had people to boss around. The other four survivors she had been with followed her around like puppies, not knowing that their group was dwindling because Cerina was saving her own life instead of theirs.

After the helicopter flew by she immediately assumed charged. Farrah had an idea but Cerina was too busy thinking about how much prettier she was than the three other girls combined. After Farrah's voice stopped gnawing on her ears she stated her own plan of action and began to follow through it. Why consult it? Her ideas never failed, at least not for her. If she was met with any arguments she would shoot her new pistol(was Ashton's) at a car, setting off the alarm, saying something along the lines of "You don't have a choice now" before walking off in her desired direction, which was down an alleyway.

Aubrey happily tagged after Cerina. She was mesmerized by her beauty, her egocentric attitude and the confidence that seemed to ooze from her. Aubrey knew she wanted to be just like Cerina, and was eager to get on the girl's good side. Although she wasn't sure if she had a good side; she seemed pretty wicked all around.

"So Cerina, were you a model or something before all this happened? You're...you're..." Aubrey struggled to say the words. She had never actually complimented anyone before, "You look good." She had been trying to say 'gorgeous' but couldn't get her mouth to cooperate.

"Good lord," Farrah muttered to Amika, disgusted at the way Aubrey was acting, "Like she needs any encouragement. If her ego gets any bigger, her head will explode." She reluctantly followed the pair, figuring it was better to take the path of least resistance, at least for now. Sooner or later it would lead to trouble though, seeing as Cerina only thought as far as to protect herself.

"Cerina will eventually kill us all or ditch us in a dire situation.. Might as well put up with it for now. Besides you turn into Rambo around her, so you'll have our backs either way." Amika chuckled and stayed close to Farrah, not wanting to get in between Aubrey and her new idol. She loved the relationship Farrah and Cerina had. It turned into some serious horror film where Farrah was Jodie Foster and Cerina was Hannibal Lector. Simply amusing.

"No, I don't like taking orders from some gay man with a camera. My beauty is also worth more than Reegan Enterprises." Cerina kept her eyes forward but didn't seem to mind Aubrey. Her compliment, or attempt at one, rubbed the heartless woman the right way. Always a good impression to make with Cerina. She heard the coughing of a Smoker and her eyes caught billows of the green smoke around a skyscraper to their far right. She raised her sniper rifle and disposed of the special infected right away. It looked like they were headed for a dead end but Cerina knew a shortcut through one of the shops that would get them to the hospital faster.

_'At least something about her comes in handy.'_ Amika joked in her thoughts but was impressed with Cerina's shooting. The streets seemed extremely desolate of infected and it made Amika's stomach become heavy. Usually that meant an omen of some kind but Cerina seemed to know the area, maybe she had come through and picked the place clean. "Where are you taking us?"

"Short cut. Through..." Cerina slowed to a stop in front of a pet shop, "Here. My last team had set a tiny safe house here, one of them also wanted to help the animals for some pathetic reason. Witch showed up and scared them away, but I knew I could take her. First shot alerted her to Ryan. He was good bait and I killed her while her back was turned."

"Using your own teammate as bait? How typical of you," Farrah scoffed, narrowing her eyes at Cerina.

"Uh, is that a.. _pet shop?_" Aubrey froze in her tracks.

"It's not fucking Best Buy." Cerina was quick to snap back with a comment but she slowly turned to face the three other girls. She could practically smell the fear in the air, though she knew most of it radiated off of Amika.

"Pe- ahem, yeah. Is there another way?" Amika's voice cracked at first but she cleared her throat. She shifted her weight between her feet nervously and tightened her grip on her gun. Her light brown eyes locked on a sole birdcage close to the display window as it swung back and forth in the shadowy depths of the upper corner.

"Cowards way is through that alley, up a ladder, across three roofs, down five blocks, and through a Macy's department store." Cerina laid out the long path. Going through the pet shop and other stores would be only slightly shorter but cover of the building hid them from hordes of unlimited infected. She didn't care where anyone went because her decision was already made.

"Tch! I'm not a coward!" Amika became offensive, not wanting to look weak in front of Cerina. She tried to push down her own phobia as she glared at the other girl.

"Oh, well I just thought that- BIRD!" Cerina suddenly screamed but that soon morphed into a vicious laugh when Amika dropped to the floor as if a drive-by shooting had begun. "Riiiight, you're not fooling anyone."

"Fine, I'll just head that way myself then." Amika tried to stand up with as much dignity as she could, shooting Aubrey a look. She remembered Aubrey's apparent distaste for a certain lap dog and had screamed just as loudly as if a Hunter were upon her. Her gaze stayed upon Aubrey, a little hopeful that she would side with her.

Aubrey had noticed Amika's furtive glances. "Amika, if you're too scared its okay. But you shouldn't separate from the group. I'll come with to protect you," Aubrey offered, hoping her unusual generosity did not give away the real motive for the offer. She shuffled her weight from foot to foot anxiously, the backpack seeming to get heavier with each passing second.

"No, that's okay! I'll go with Amika," Farrah was quick to interject. There was no way in heck she was going anywhere with Cerina alone.

"No really, I think it's better if I go with Amika. I mean, you're so... little. What protection would you offer her?" Aubrey shot back to the blond.

"You're almost as short as her so I wouldn't talk. Here give me your bag." Amika extended a hand to Aubrey for her enormous back pack. She had seen the tiny girl struggle with it long enough and she had packed light enough to carry the extra weight. She also had enough strength to carry both the bag and Aubrey herself, but she didn't want to give the smaller girl any ideas.

"Awww, she your new girlfriend Amika?" Cerina mocked with a sneer. Amika shot her a renewed glare but kept most of her attention on Aubrey's back pack.

"No, but I could be yours if you play your cards right," Aubrey smiled at Cerina seductively, ignoring Amika's previous comments.

"I don't play cards." Cerina brushed off Aubrey's comment. She enjoyed the fawning coming from the shorter girl but not that much.

"Like Amika needs another reason to hate Cerina," Farrah rolled her eyes. Suddenly, Farrah became aware of the ground trembling beneath her feet. "I think we have company!" she cried, trying to spot the direction and proximity of the Tank.

"Wha-AHHHHHHH!" Aubrey turned as she heard Farrah's comment just in time to see a hunk of concrete fly by her face. Her high pitched scream lit up the dusky air as she hit the ground, diving for cover under a nearby vehicle. She panted, trying to catch her breath as the trembling of the ground grew stronger.

"Get out of there!" Farrah yelled to Aubrey. The Tank was already on the vehicle, its meaty paws about to tear Aubrey's hiding spot from above her. Just then the wail of a horde sounded. "Should have fucking known..." Farrah mumbled as the zombies began to pour around the corner of the street.

Amika whipped her gun in the Tanks direction. As it approached Aubrey's 'hiding spot' Amika ran towards him, unloading her shot gun into his side to grab his attention. She ducked as he swung his arm at her and shot him one more time before running.

"Fuck!" She had unknowingly run towards the horde as they poured out into the street. A zombie was flying towards her but was quickly shot down. Cerina's scope moved from Amika's side to her next target.

"Get that bimbo from under the car." Cerina directed Farrah right before she fired her gun again.

"I heard that!" Aubrey cried as she half crawled and was half dragged out from under the car.

"For someone so small you weigh a ton!" Farrah groaned, hauling Aubrey to her feet. Backtracking, she wiped the sweat from her forehead and continued firing at the horde, knocking them back as quickly as she could so they wouldn't get swarmed. "Where's your weapon?" she cried at Aubrey.

"I don't know!" Aubrey screamed back, still salty over the 'you weigh a ton' comment, "I'm fucking looking for it!" She quickly scanned the area but all she could see were the desperate eyes of the zombies headed towards her. "Fuck it!" she cried and, seeing the Tank was now after Amika and not after her, she bolted for the safest area she could see.

"I don't know what you see in that one," Farrah shouted at Amika, navigating her way to a higher perch.

"She looks like a good lay!" Amika shouted back to Farrah as she rolled away from the Tanks fists. She had done a fairly good job as bait being able to dodge with Tank's thrashing while pivoting around the normal infected that escaped Farrah and Cerina's fire. She slid to a halt a good distance from the Tank, and Cerina had thinned out the crowd, so Amika took the chance to reload her shotgun.

"Shit!" Amika yelled as the blur of the Tank rushed past her vision right as she cocked her gun. He had taken notice of Aubrey as she ran in his line of vision. The beast roared before propelling himself towards her. Amika couldn't do much about it and turned to shoot down an approaching Hunter.

The blond quickly took stock of the situation. Cerina and Amika were doing pretty good at cutting back the horde, but they weren't going to last long against that Tank. Suddenly she remembered the Molotov in her pack. "Cover me!" she yelled as she frantically ripped her pack off her back and began to peruse its contents. "Why did I pack so many freaking band-aids?" she mentally cursed herself. "Aha!" she cried as she found what she was looking for.

Cerina took side steps towards Farrah and shot the heads off the zombies heading towards her. She knelt a small distance from the midget to reload her clip. Her dark eyes flicked over to the blond as she stood with her item.

Aubrey's safe zone had not been as safe as she thought as three zombie heads poked around the mailbox she was huddled behind. "AHHHH!" she shrieked and dove out of the reach of their slimy appendages.

"Take cover!" Farrah cried as she flung the Molotov at the rampaging Tank.

Aubrey rolled into the street, scraping her elbows and knees on the hard concrete. Eyes watering with pain, she stumbled to her feet only to face the massive form of the Tank and his angry, merciless, fiery eyes. In her peripheral vision, she could see the glass bottle of Farrah's molotov as it soared towards the Tank.

Amika watched as the Tank howled in pain as the glass shattered against its muscle and its body was engulfed with flames. Despite the cry of pain it didn't seem like he even flinched from the contact and continued to push himself towards Aubrey.

Eyes wide with horror, Aubrey was frozen with terror. The Tank roared with fury. Its body covered with rolling flames, she could feel the heat from its blaze flicked against her skin. She knew she should do something, anything. As its fists came pounding to the ground she was knocked off her feet. And then it came pummeling towards her. For once in her life, she couldn't even muster enough voice to scream.

Farrah sighed with relief when she realized the Molotov had hit its mark. But then her eyes fell on the fallen form that was now its prey. Why wasn't Aubrey doing anything? "Run, Aubrey!_ Get the fuck up and RUN!_" she cried, reaching for her gun. Quickly she shot back the zombies that were of closest threat and then focused her fire on the Tank.

Aubrey shook her head, Farrah's screaming having broken through the fog around her senses. Heart pounding, she scrambled to her feet and began sprinting away from the Tank. Adrenaline pounding through her veins, she was unaware of anything else around her. Her desperate emerald eyes fell on the open door of a nearby shop and she raced inside, throwing herself over the counter to huddle on the ground behind it.

The Tank followed in after her.

"My ammo!" Cerina hissed before running towards the demolished safe house. Even though she was firing without the scope and from the hip, her shots were hitting the Tank. Her sniper rifle seemed to be doing the most damage to the beast compared to the other two who wielded guns at the moment. She slid in, gracefully missing his bulging arms, and aimed her gun at his face.

Cerina unloaded the rest of her clip into him, fully expecting him to fall to his knees in defeat. Instead, he gave one last thrash and flailed his arms over his head. This caused the roof of the entrance to collapse onto him and Cerina to run deeper into the pet shop for cover.

"Aubrey!" Amika heard the window shatter as the building fell. She killed an infected with the butt of her gun before rushing towards the one place she initially avoided.

"Aubrey! Cover me Farrah!" Amika yelled over her shoulder to her friend. They had dwindled the horde down to a dozen, so she felt Farrah was more than capable of handling it.

"I've got your back!" Farrah cried out in response, quickly altering her position to take on the remaining zombies.

Cerina coughed as the debris settled and fixed her hair. It didn't look as bad from the inside then it did the outside. She used her rifle to stand up and went to check on her ammo stash, ignoring Aubrey as she walked by the counter that had missed the Tank and bigger pieces of building.

Aubrey was trembling with shock. She had never encountered a Tank before. She had only known of their existence due to posters she had seen in the safe house. As its prey, she had thought for sure she would be killed. But then Cerina had come to her rescue, a beautiful dark angel. Slowly she pulled herself to her feet, leaning on the counter for stability.

Eyes wide with admiration, she watched Cerina thinking she was the most beautiful creature she'd ever seen. "You-you saved my life," she said when she had found her voice.

Cerina sighed in relief when her ammo was untouched. She reloaded her gun and looked around for a bag to pack the rest of her ammo in. Her dark eyes laid on Aubrey as she came to a stand, ignoring anything that came out of her mouth.

"Come here." She demanded of the smaller girl.

"Okay," Aubrey replied and headed towards her savior, positively glowing with admiration.

As soon as Aubrey got close enough Cerina snatched her up and started strapping pieces of ammo to the other girl's body. She had lost her big bag in her scurry to get away from the Tank so her body was open for baggage. Cerina was fast enough that Aubrey couldn't really fight her if she tried.

If it had been anyone else invading her space and taxing her body, Aubrey would be flipping out but she didn't seem to mind that Cerina was doing it.

"Let's go see how Amika and Farrah are doing." She walked off expecting Aubrey to follow her, whimpers of dogs and mewls from cats in her wake.

Knees buckling with the weight, Aubrey stumbled after Cerina hoping she wouldn't fall and set all the ammo off. "How are we going to get back out?" Aubrey wondered aloud realizing just how much damage the pet shop had endured. Among the other damage, the entryway had completely collapsed. Feeling something soft brush her ankle, she squealed with fear and collided into Cerina.

"Upstairs to the roof-" Cerina started before Aubrey fell into her. Her reflexes kicked in and she swirled around as she pulled out her pistol. Her finger had pulled the trigger before her mind registered it. She stared at the pile of mush that lay at Aubrey's feet that used to be a puppy.

"You almost made me shoot you with all that ammo on and kill myself.. Don't do that again."

"Yea, like I've ever been able to control my animal magnetism," Aubrey rolled her eyes then grew quiet as she noticed Cerina's expression. "Sorry," she mumbled.

Having taken care of any immediate threats, Farrah went to investigate the Pet Shop.

"This doesn't look good," she noted grimly, turning to Amika.

"God damn it!" Amika kicked the rubble and threw her shot gun at the ground. During the two weeks Aubrey had been in her care Amika vowed to protect her. Now here she was looking at the ruined remains of the pet shop mingled with the Tanks body and possibly Aubrey's.

"Fuck, I was supposed to protect her..." Amika's fist shook and she paced back and forth for a few moments.

"The girl has the IQ of a squirrel. You can only protect that so long before it ends up under the tire of a car," Farrah uttered before she could stop herself. Seeing the misery on her friends face, she tried to be more helpful. "Amika, you did your best. Chances are she's still in there moaning about all the dust and animal feces. Let's work on finding another way in."

Amika didn't pay heed to Farrah's regards of Aubrey and started to find a way in. She grew frustrated when the rubble held no signs of an entrance. There weren't any windows low enough for them to reach either.

"What now?" Amika's sad eyes cast over to her short friend. As if on cue a helicopter sounded in the distance and the announcement was repeated.

"If they're alive I'm pretty sure Cerina's going to head there." Amika tried to sound hopeful.

"You're right. I'm sure they must have heard the helicopter. We can reunite at Mercy," Farrah agreed, smiling reassuringly. After reloading her gun, she slung her pack over her shoulder and began to lead the way down the street.

"Loud ass helicopter..." Cerina griped as she climbed down the fire escape.

"It's going to get dark soon we should hurry." Her dark eyes scanned the alleyway before resting on Aubrey as she stepped on the ground. The flight of stairs leading to the roof had been boarded up, and Cerina didn't want to put forth the effort and see if Amika and Farrah were still alive.

"What about Amika and Ferret?" Aubrey reminded her, wondering what Cerina had in mind. "Shouldn't we look for a way around? I'm sure they're worried about me."

"Amika did seem pretty attached... Oh well. We still need to get to Mercy Hospital." Cerina made sure her ammo was strapped on securely and patted Aubrey in the shoulder before leading the way.

Aubrey hurried after Cerina, not wanting to be left on her own. "Yeah, I see what you're saying. They're headed the same way so we'll meet up with them there," she replied, hoping that's what Cerina had meant. She hoped they didn't have too far to go; running with all the ammo on was really wearing her out. With Cerina taking charge there wasn't a lot of pausing or time spent on Aubrey. Usually Amika would let her take a break or listen to her babbling with a few interjections, but not Cerina.

"Could you... could you just... SLOW DOWN!" Aubrey gasped after they completed yet another city block at the same insane pace. Cerina seemed to never tire or slow, not even when cutting down approaching infected.

Cerina turned a corner, ignoring the short woman, and continued walking until she noticed her ammo wasn't following her anymore. She rolled her eyes and walked back.

"You need a break? It's getting dark and I think we're close to the hospital.." She looked at the weary girl in front of her. Aubrey looked exhausted, out of breath, and sweaty. This did not tug at Cerina's heart strings.. if the alleged killer even had a heart. She noticed a building over Aubrey's shoulder that looked like it had potential for supplies.

"Of course I need a break! I've been carrying this ammo while trying to keep up with your inhumanly fast pace for the last twelve blocks. What am I, your donkey?" Aubrey snapped. Any admiration she had felt towards Cerina was quickly fleeting. It was becoming clear that she did not care about Aubrey's well being. Aubrey found it rather shocking. Most people she knew would go to the ends of the earth to make her happy. It was unsettling.

"I am so tempted to cut your tongue out of your mouth." Cerina stated bluntly with a chilly and serious expression. She marched past Aubrey towards the building across the street.

"Fine, stay here. I'll be right back." The thought that Aubrey didn't have a weapon didn't cross her mind.

Shivers crawled up Aubrey's spine at the comment. Cerina was really starting to scare her. Her beauty was fascinating, but mixed with her personality she seemed more like a demonic angel. Aubrey was almost relieved when Cerina disappeared into the building. Catching her breath, she studied the desolate area around her anxiously. She had no weapons. What would she do if an infected spotted her? She found herself longing for the protection and company Amika had offered. Amika would never have left her alone on the street, unable to defend herself. 

"Get it off, get it off!" Amika flailed while laying on her back. She was using her shot gun to guard herself from the maniacal and violent zombie in a hoodie. His cry caused her ears to pop and he was making huge dents in her gun as she held it up against him.

Farrah didn't reply as she sprinted ahead to help her friend. Tossing a pipe bomb over her shoulder to keep the other infected at bay, she then whipped out her pistols and began firing round after round into the stubborn zombie assaulting Amika.

"What the fuck Farrah! HELP ME!"

"I'm trying!" Farrah shouted. Given Amika's luck the creature fell to the ground limply as soon as she called for help the second time.

"You alright?" Farrah called as she turned to attack the zombies that the pipe bomb had left over. Then she spotted the Boomer.

"God damn it.." Amika sprinted past Farrah and used her gun to shove a Boomer away from Farrah. Right as she pulled the trigger she realized she needed to reload. She cursed loudly and shoved him again before alerting Farrah to shoot him as she reloaded. It was obvious she was off of her game.

As soon as the Boomer was out of puking range she fired. Guts and puke sprayed in a fifteen foot radius from the big guy, but thankfully missed the pair. The stench however still reached them.

Dry heaving from the smell, Farrah cut down the remaining zombies and then paused to catch her breath and reload. "When will they learn not to mess with us? They should be the ones running."

"No one learns.." Amika chuckled, "Hopefully we get a small break. We're only a couple blocks away now." Amika and Farrah had blazed through the distance towards the hospital. Any zombies in their way had been dispatched quickly and special infected were no different. They had a good system down, mainly taken from their video game tactics.

"You think Aubrey's okay?.." Amika had been aiming her gun as she walked down the barren street. She lowered her weapon and looked over to her best friend. "I'm pretty sure Cerina is fine but she would throw Aubrey to the wolves at any given moment."

"Cerina is virtually indestructible, or she'd have been murdered by now," Farrah replied. She knew it was too much to hope for that Cerina was dead, Aubrey's fate she was less sure of, but she didn't want to break Amika's spirit by saying so. "Aubrey may have been far enough inside already to not be injured by the collapse. Hopefully she has enough sense not piss off Cerina and she just might survive the journey to Mercy."

Farrah glanced up at the cloud darkened sky, shivering as the sun disappeared. The hospital garb she was wearing didn't offer much warmth. "We'd better keep moving."

Amika nodded as she become serious again and pushed forward.

Cerina indeed didn't take long to stifle through shelves and dead bodies in her search for supplies. Anything she found would be tucked into her bag swiftly. She came out of the store at a leisurely pace, loving the expression on Aubrey's face as she stood in the darkness. She inhaled deeply as if she could consume the fear right out of the air. A distant howl caused her to turn her head.

"Fuck me." Cerina sighed and turned to walk towards Aubrey, her pace picking up. Even though Cerina didn't seem to mind, Aubrey could see a huge flock of zombies coming towards them looking like fire as they tore down the street destroying everything in their path.

"I hope you have a plan!" Aubrey trembled with terror and turned her frightened gaze to Cerina. The zombies were getting closer every second. No weapon in hand, her only thought was to get away. Without waiting for Cerina's reply, Aubrey forced her fear leaden feet to move and stumbled into a sprint. She knew the general direction of the hospital. Maybe she could make it. With the pack on her back, she wasn't moving very fast but she had no other plans or ideas.

Cerina was running backwards at this point and was firing her rifle at the oncoming horde, with Aubrey still running ahead of her. The hospital was only half a block away and the killers face lit up into a dark smile. She slung her rifle back around her body and pulled out her pistols. A few zombies towards the entrance didn't have a chance and were shot down by her.

By the time they reached the doors she was in front of Aubrey and pushed them open. She had done it with enough force for Aubrey to slip in as well, though it was unintentional. Once inside she led Aubrey past the waiting rooms and towards a bigger room. There was a flight of stairs that Cerina got to. She turned and shot down a dozen zombies as she waited for Aubrey.

Once Aubrey started running up them she reloaded and was on her heels. All of a sudden, as Aubrey reached the floor, a Tank burst though the wall with a mighty roar. The force of his appearance caused Aubrey to stumble and scream. She was sent over the railing but grabbed onto it as the Tank stampeded over the top. Cerina fired at him a few times, but when it was certain he was out of her reach she kept moving forward.

"Whaa- wait! Cerina where are you going? HELP ME!" Aubrey cried as she dangled from the railing.

Cerina slid to a halt and looked back over her shoulder. Her dark eyes widened and her full lips parted in surprise, then a determined look etched into her features and she shot down some zombies that were coming up the stairs. She reached Aubrey in record time, though instead of reaching for the young girls hand or arm she reached over her. She detached what ammo she could from Aubrey and threw it over her shoulder.

"It's funny that you're thinking.. 'Amika would never do this to me'." Cerina mocked with an evil expression and kicked Aubrey off of the railing. Her sinister eyes drank in the fear on Aubrey's face the split second she had been betrayed before turning to continue her course.


	8. Chapter VIII  No Mercy

Characters belong to us, everything else is copyright to Valve

Chapter VIII – No Mercy

"Auuuubreeeyy!" Gunshots and Amika's voice would fill Aubrey's ears right as she felt doom consume her. Amika pushed herself to propel forward at an impossible rate. With arms wide open she caught the lithe body of Aubrey and held on tightly. Farrah had found a safe room at the entrance of the hospital but when they heard the Tank it gave them hope for Aubrey and Cerina. Amika didn't seem to want to let go of the pretty girl but Farrah would need help with the Tank eventually.

Farrah groaned upon spotting the mammoth Tank. "Not another one of these bastards!" she quickly shot down the zombies within range and studied her surroundings, trying to come up with a plan.

"Let me get her to the safe room and I'll come back!" Amika held the utmost confidence in her best friend to survive the couple minutes it would take her to get Aubrey to safety. Farrah didn't bother responding; knowing all of Amika's attention was now centered on her prize. Instead, she ducked as the Tank ripped a chunk of concrete from the stairwell and hurled it across the room towards her. It shattered mere feet above her head, sending a shower of rock and dust down around her. The Tank thundered towards her.

Oblivious to Farrah's peril, Aubrey looked up at Amika, emerald eyes wide with awe and disbelief, "I never thought I'd be happy to see you again," she said, her voice no more than a whisper, "But I am. I really am!" A dazzling smile lit up her features as she wrapped her arms around Amika's neck and settled in for the free ride to the safe house.

Suddenly Farrah heard the cry of a Hunter. Flicking her blue eyes towards the sound, she spotted the special infected and cut him down with her pistols as he leapt through the air towards her. Dead, the momentum caused him to slide down the hallway out of sight. In the seconds it had taken her to kill the Hunter, the Tank was already upon her. His heavy fists came crashing down towards her. Her gymnast's reflexes kicked into gear and she rolled out of the way. Leaping back onto her feet, she spotted an assortment of weapons just down the hall.

Running backwards, she simultaneously fired at the Tank with her pistols as she approached the weapon stock. As she bent to survey the selection, another ball of concrete landed just to the left of her feet. The force sent her sprawling into the next room. As luck would have it, there was a grenade launcher under the hospital bed next to her. There were also a handful of zombies.

Amika bobbed and weaved through infected skillfully. She had to slow down a few times to brace herself for a kick towards a few zombies but was unmolested otherwise. She reached the steel red door in record time. She set Aubrey down gently; partially closing the door so no infected could invade the safe room.

As if waiting for Farrah, the zombies all leaped for her at once. Farrah grimaced and began shooting, her back still on the ground. Headshots claimed all but one and the angry infected began to kick and claw at her.

"Ow, shit," she cried in pain and then rolled under the hospital bed to the other side, pulling the grenade launcher along with her. Scrambling to her feet, she quickly switched the safety off on her new weapon and smiled menacingly at the snarling zombie, "Hasta la vista, bitch," she said pulling the trigger. The zombie exploded into the wall behind it along with shrapnel and the hospital equipment near it.

"How will I ever thank you?" Aubrey turned to Amika, moving closer until their faces were only inches apart. Gazing into Amika's eyes, she suddenly felt nervous. She reached up and tucked a stray lock of hair behind Amika's ear and then, lips parted, leaned in to kiss her. At the last second, she turned and placed a soft kiss on her cheek instead.

Amika, in the whole couple of weeks during the infection, never had her heart beat so quickly or so loudly. The look on her face as Aubrey kissed her cheek instead was priceless, but she recovered nicely. She smiled at Aubrey softly as she reached forward and gently grasped her cheek as her thumb traced her bottom lip.

"Just don't get separated from me again." She cocked her gun and turned to aid Farrah in the battle against the undead.

Farrah could feel the Tanks approach as the ground shook beneath her. She ran back into the hallway, not wanting to be cornered. Taking aim, she blasted a grenade towards the big beast. The Tank stumbled back upon being hit and was momentarily dazed. She took the opportunity to dash back towards the lobby where she'd have more range of movement, but was startled to see a human figure strolling into the hospital entrance. The man appeared to be uninfected.

Unaware she'd been staring, she was suddenly sent off her feet by a punch from the Tank. She was thrown like a rag doll into the middle of the lobby. Amika closed the steel door behind her and rushed off. On her way to Farrah she bumped into a zombie, or so she thought. As her gun went off the strange man jumped out of the way.

"Her, help, kid!" He shouted to Amika as he pointed to Farrah while she was in midair.

"You mean 'help her'?... Shit, Farrah!" Amika looked at him pointedly before realizing her friend was in trouble.

It took her almost a minute until she was able to breathe again, the hit from the Tank having been so forceful. She gasped loudly as the wind came back into her lungs and slowly got back onto her feet. She hoped there were some health packs in the safe room, because she felt sure she'd broken at least a couple ribs.

"More of a distraction than actual help," she muttered through her pain, glaring daggers at the unknown man. And on top of distracting her, he mistook her for a child! At least the Tank had taken its eyes off her for the moment.

Not saying anything else the stranger charged at the magnificent beast. His assault rifle was dealing out good damage to the titanic monster. Once the Tank was following him Derick lead it back towards the stairs. With the cover from the girls he rolled forward and snatched up a white propane tank. He tossed it towards the Tank and began firing at the special infected again. He had to wait for the right moment to shoot the propane tank, wanting the explosion to either daze the Tank for the kid to shoot it with the grenade launcher or to kill it completely.

Farrah forced herself fully upright so she could aim the grenade launcher properly. Her side felt like it was ripping in half. Gasping in pain, she located the Tank within her sights and fired one round after another until the recoil was too much and she collapsed to the floor. Amika gunned down the surrounding infected and helped the new survivor as he steered the Tank the other way. She slid to a stop next to Farrah and threw her shotgun behind her, the strap keeping it close to her body. She whipped out her pistol and thinned out the crowd even more before grabbing Farrah. She started back towards the safe house, not too worried about the stranger since he seemed to have a strategy.

The dark haired girl opened the hefty door and her eyes quickly scanned the room for a stretcher. She was surprised to find a hospital bed.. and then not surprised to find Aubrey already on it. She set Farrah down and picked up the sleeping beauty so Farrah could lay down. She would take the wrath from the other girl so her best friend could get comfortable.

"Whaaa," Aubrey moaned groggily, and then her voice rose in pitch as she was pulled fully from her slumber, "What the hell!" she cried, squirming out of Amika's hold. She crossed her arms and stomped her foot in irritation. Then her eyes fell on the clearly injured Farrah. "Whatever," she sighed and walked to the back of the room. She pulled a first aid pack absent mindedly out of the cupboard and tossed it to Amika before sitting down on the counter.

Amika shook her head at Aubrey's antics but went to work right away on Farrah. She felt comfortable patching up the short woman. She had to glance behind her shoulder a few times, making sure the door had been closed. Not too much longer Derick came into the safe room. He bolted the door behind him so as not to let any infected in. He didn't look like he had a scratch on him.

"Is she going to be okay?" His voice was deep, calm and had a lace of concern. He surveyed the crowd and felt pretty lucky to have found the beautiful rag tag bunch.

"Oh, I'm fine," Aubrey waved off his question, not realizing it was intended for Farrah. "Who are you anyways?" she flashed her eyes over him, trying to decide if he was worth her interest.

Farrah was about to snap at Aubrey, but Amika happened to run her hand over a tender spot on her ribs and she gasped in pain instead. Moments later, the pain seized as her injuries began to heal.

"Thanks," she smiled at Amika.

"Hey, you're my best friend.. it's my job." She smiled back at her. Derick eyed the other short girl warily, but instead of answering her right away he pulled out a cigarette.

"She'll be good as new in a couple hours. The Tank got her ribs pretty badly though." Amika answered him and shook her head at Farrah,

"My name's Derick. I like menthol cigarettes and I've been surviving in this hospital for awhile." He started to dig into his pockets for a lighter.

"Amika Reegan. I, uhm, like killing zombies so that's how I survived this long." Amika stepped back from Farrah to view her handy work. She handed her some pain pills that were in the health pack.

"Hey, the world may have ended but the smoking law remains," Farrah eyed Derick's cigarette with distaste. Smoking was her biggest pet peeve. She hated contaminating her lungs just because someone else didn't give a fuck about theirs. "You wanna light that, you better step outside."

"Lighten up Ferret," Aubrey rolled her eyes at Farrah's comment. Derick chuckled, and still didn't put his cigarette away.

"I'm pretty sure we've all been through enough these past couple weeks to deserve one. I'll smoke it the farthest from you. Besides, if you've run into those coughing guys with long tongues I'm pretty sure your lungs are screwed." He lit it up and turned to face away from Farrah, respecting her wishes to an extent. There was no way he was going to let this kid force him into mortal danger just because she wanted him to smoke outside.

"Fine," Normally Farrah was mild mannered enough to just let it go and bite her tongue, but the apocalypse seemed to be destroying her every sense of human decency. Farrah hopped off the bed and snatched the rest of the cigarettes from Derick, "Enjoy that one cause it's your last," she then proceeded to shred the remaining ones with her bare hands before passing out due to the effects of the pain pills.

Amika just sighed and rubbed her temples with her fingers. Derick watched her display with a clenched jaw but he didn't move. Instead he continued to smoke his cigarette, even as she fell.

"Damn," Aubrey laughed, watching the spectacle. Then raised her eyebrow as Farrah passed out. "You did tell her to only take one of those right?"

"No, I gave her like six.. Figured she could sleep it off." Amika proceeded to pick up Farrah's limp body and carry her to bed. Derick chuckled once again.

"Well, I'm going to get more cigarette's. I keep a stash of them just in case of people like her." He rubbed the back of his neck and then inhaled more nicotine. He tucked his pistol into his belt and headed out of the room. "You ladies have fun babysitting the little one."

Aubrey laughed out loud, "Like you'd ever catch me babysitting. Diapers? No thank you."

"Oh no, Farrah is going to hate him for thinking she's young.. Oh well." Amika went to rummage through the cupboards by Aubrey. She did steal a couple glances of the other girl, really happy to be back in her presence. Sure, she was a selfish bitch with nothing but good looks working for her, but she had grown on her during the fall of man kind.

"How was it with your idol Cerina?" There was an obvious hint of jealousy in Amika's voice.

"Idol? I don't know what you're referring to," Aubrey replied, "I've never met anyone so selfish! I don't know how anyone can stand to be around that 24/7."

_'That's so ironic I can't even say anything.' _Amika momentarily stopped her search and shook her head. The two would have a couple more minutes to themselves before Derick walked back in, smoking a newly lit cigarette. He also had a big paper bag in his arms. He locked the door behind him and set the bag onto the counter next to the pair.

"Brought some food for you guys. Little one's going to need it when she gets up-"

"I'm going to stop you right there. She's actually 20 years old, she just has a height... hindrance." Amika corrected him, feeling her correction would be a lot gentler than Farrah's... especially since the legal midget already appeared to hate him. Amika didn't mind the cigarette smoke one bit and started to rifle through the bag, pulling out various kinds of food.

"What brings you guys to Mercy?" He leaned against the counter as Amika tore apart the food.

"Helicopter announcement. They said to come here and they're going to take us to safety." Amika looked up at him concerned that he had been stationed at the hospital but didn't know about the escape.

"Okay, I figured as much." He looked down at Amika with a smile, and then glanced at Aubrey. _'God, these women are beautiful.'_

Bored, Aubrey hopped off the counter and strolled over to Derick, smiling seductively at him as she pulled the cigarette out of his hand and took a drag. "Thanks hun," she said, winking at him. She then turned her gaze to Amika, gauging her reaction.

Derick was a little caught off guard by her but slipped his hands into his pockets. Amika watched her with a slightly irritated expression but when Aubrey looked over to her she rolled her eyes and went back to looking in the bag with a little more of a strained focus on the food.

"A few people have come and gone, but it doesn't seem that they made it to the top to the radio.. How soon are you guys going to stock up and head up there? I wouldn't mind tagging along this time since you guys seem to know what you're doing." He leaned against the counter as he watched Amika sort out the items he had brought back.

"I was planning on heading up there right away, but with Farrah injured we're going to have to wait." Amika shook her head before opening some trail mix.

"Of course you can tag along," Aubrey said to Derick, casually running her hand over his bicep, "We could use more strong, handsome men like yourself around." Taking another drag from the cigarette, she blew the smoke into Amika's face.

"Well, thank you." He raised an eyebrow at her with a sly smile, though he did take note of her lingering attention towards Amika. His ability to read body language and subtle expressions was unrivaled and it helped him in this current crisis to gauge if people were trustworthy or not. He kept his hands in his pockets and also stole a glance at Amika's face; he felt like laughing out loud when he saw it but kept quiet for Aubrey's sake.

Amika waved her hand at the smoke, giving Aubrey a displeased look for the action. Although, as her light brown eyes glanced up at Derick they filled with hate. If looks could kill Derick would have been dead before he hit the floor. She gathered the food she had picked out for Farrah and turned from them to set it close to her friend, so she could eat right when she woke up. Farrah hadn't been in the best mood since the end of the world and she was still sickly thin.

"I hope you got what you wanted.." He whispered to her with a light laugh, so Amika couldn't hear him, and plucked his cigarette back from her. He didn't move in the slightest and kept his other hand in his pocket.

"Not sure what you mean," Aubrey replied smiling, knowing full well what he was talking about. Her heart soared with Amika's reaction. Momentarily satisfied, she grabbed a granola bar from Farrah's stash and went back to her perch on the countertop.

-

Characters  
><strong>Derick Robinson<strong>  
>Age: 24<br>Height: 6'2"  
>Ref: Justin Hartley<p> 


	9. Chapter IX  Savior

Another friend jumped in on the fun with this chapter, so there's three of us now lol

Characters  
><strong>Aimi Hara<strong>  
>Age: 19<br>Height: 5'5"  
>Ref: Ai Shinozaki<p>

**Rome**  
>Age: 19<br>Height: 6'  
>Ref: Peter Corp Dyrendal<p>

Characters belong to us, everything else is copyright to Valve

Chapter IX – Savior

The beeping of a pipe bomb was heard amongst the blood crazy zombies in the subway as Aimi launched the metal contraption as far back into the horde as she could. Having heard voices in the usually silent subway, she had gone to investigate and found what seemed like a pair of uninfected survivors. Although, the one on the ground was questionable.

"We have 30 seconds before they're after us again. Is your friend alright?" Aimi asked, debating whether or not the pink-haired girl was safe. Blair's eyes snapped open when she heard the beeping and her heart popped into her throat when she heard a voice. 30 seconds wasn't a long time so Blair got straight into business.

"She's crazy, but she's good. Can you drag her for me? I have a touch phobia.." Blair took her shirt off and tossed the sopping mess onto the floor as she quickly explained. She bent forward and picked up Cherry's gun along with her bag. She would follow right along with this girl who was her savior.

"The exit to the subway isn't far unless you have a closer hiding spot?" Blair inquired quickly.

"My place is quicker, if you don't mind," Aimi replied, tucking her pistol into its holster as she grabbed Cherry by the arms. Normally she would wait for a reply, but in this case there wasn't time. She led the way, hoping the girl would follow.

Aimi led the way to another passage as the pipe bomb exploded. The angry roars of the undead sounded as they turned their focus back onto the trio. "Quick, through this hall!" Aimi alerted Blair of the hallway that branched off the tracks. It led to a control room. As they cleared the hall, she dropped Cherry's arms and pulled a Molotov from her pack, tossing it into the entryway where it shattered into flames. A few zombies came staggering through, covered in flames, but quickly burned to their deaths.

Picking Cherry back up, Aimi led Blair the rest of the way to the control room and quickly shut the door behind them. She sighed in relief at their relative safety. Blair was enthralled at this newcomers techniques and quick thinking. She leaned against the door and turned to face this Asian girl when she began talking.

"There is food and beverages in the corner and clean clothes on the shelf over there," Aimi offered, "I may even have some baby wipes there too if I'm not mistaken. Not as good as a shower, but it's better than nothing." She grabbed a towel from the shelf and moistened it with a water bottle from the dorm sized fridge. She then bent over Cherry, wiping the cloth on her face to try to wake her.

"Thank you." Blair smiled at her before looking down at Cherry with a frown. She took the water bottle from Aimi and dumped a generous amount onto Cherry's face.

"What the..." Cherry sputtered and started coughing up water. Her nose burned from the liquid that had traveled there. She sat up quickly and took stock of her surroundings. Seeing no zombies or infected, she relaxed. "Where are we?"

"This is the control room for the subway," Aimi replied, "I've been hiding out here for awhile. My name is Aimi," she offered her hand to the girl, trying to be friendly.

"Cherry," she replied, shaking the girls hand vigorously. Then she eyed Blair's lack of clothing and raised an eyebrow, "Am I missing something? What happened?"

"You freaked out about the walls, puked on me, then a Boomer puked on me, and then you passed out to leave me to deal with a huge horde of those things!" Blair's voice slowly started getting louder and louder until she was practically shouting. She then turned to Aimi.

"Blair Spivey, ex-local photographer. Nice to meet you." She waved at the cute girl. As the introductions began to get made there was a staccato chorus of gunshots followed by a quick knock at the door, a few more shots and the entrance of a new player. He let himself into the room, he just wanted to give Aimi a heads up.

"Looks like you started a party without me," he grumbled with a frown. There was a large canvas bag under his arm filled with food and a few other supplies. He was damn hungry or he would have stayed out to play with the zombies a little longer. Like Cherry, he had an unusual propensity for killing and other acts of violence, indulged by the end of the world. Finally, he could act without repercussions. No more law. No more order.

He looked into the room with some surprise at finding two new women. "Well, well. If we need to repopulate the planet after this blows over, we've got the right company."

"I'm going to go find some clothes.." The man looked pretty scary, but he also looked like he held a lot of power. Blair folded her arms over her chest and walked off to find the baby wipes and a shirt.

Cherry had to resist the urge to start taking her clothes off. It had been awhile since she had come across such a badass fellow. She grabbed the half full container of water and took a couple long drinks while surveying the new pair. Aimi was attractive and obviously knew what she was doing if what Blair said was true, and if Rome could survive out there on his own he seemed like a good addition as well.

"Guys this is Rome. We just met a couple of days ago. Funny story actually. I was collecting rainwater from the tarp I set up when he stumbled into it while running from a horde. Luckily I had just made a new batch of pipe bombs and I was able to distract them as we ran to safety," she giggled at the memory.

"I'll tell you guys the same thing I told her. I've outlived nine other survivors. If you can't pull your own weight, don't expect me to come saving your ass. This ain't the glory days of chivalry and knighthood and shit." He unzipped the bag and grabbed a bottle of water, a can of precooked meat and a bag of some kind of chips then scooted the bag towards Aimi.

"Well, nice to meet you Rome. I'm Blair Spivey." She came closer to the group, donning a new shirt and jeans. Aimi was right, it wasn't a shower but those baby wipes were definitely better than nothing. She moved closer to Cherry, more comfortable with her compared to the newcomers, and picked up a bottle of water. "Thanks for the hospitality. It's hard to find nowadays."

"Do you guys have any plans of moving to Mercy Hospital? It's not far from this subway tunnel." Blair took a hearty swig of water before asking.

"Well, the statistics of the two of us making it there in one piece were pretty low. But now that you two are here, it's feasible!" Aimi looked at the pair, eyes full of hope.

Cherry considered the obvious difference in personalities between Aimi and Rome, "Yea, we're headed for Mercy if you want to tag along." _This could get interesting, _she thought to herself.

He was still standing by the door, cracked open the can and started to eat. He obviously had no scruples was neither quiet nor neat about it. He finished in record time and sucked down most of the bottle of water.

"Remind me why we're going anywhere." He was perfectly content with the way things had been going in their nest so far. He looked to Aimi for answers as though she was the only one with input of consequence. If she wasn't eating he would wordlessly encourage her to do so before much longer.

"Well, we want to get rescued right? We only have enough supplies for another two weeks, tops. It's in our best interest to make it to that helicopter and whatever safety it might provide," Aimi answered. She grabbed a handful of chips and snacked absently while considering what supplies they would need.

"I have a dozen pipe bombs and a handful of Molotovs on top of some food and ammo," she said, thinking out loud, "And with four of us, we should be able to make it to the helipad relatively unscathed."

"Yeah, with all of us carrying supplies we can make it there with a lot of stock." Blair piped up. Rome snorted with disbelief.

"Yea, safe house.. I buy that." He shook his head but he was willing to go if for no other reason than to find a new place to camp. He had issues with the supposed helicopter ride that was involved too but for now kept that to himself.

"You guys armed? I have a flamethrower Aimi put together so I can take up the back or the front.. Someone with a better sense of direction should lead. Aimi's good for pipe-bombing.. What about you?," he looked at Cherry.

"Snow here can handle the directions, and I'll kick ass no matter where I'm at. Maybe you two can bring up the rear? I've got my shotgun and pistols. I think Snow could use some ammo though," Cherry answered. Reaching into her pack, she double checked her ammo and then began to shove some bombs and food supplies in as well. He nodded, approving her attitude even if her freaky hair threw him off.

"I have extra guns and ammo on that wall if you want to take your pick," Aimi offered to Blair. She glanced at her wristwatch, "If we get packed up and moving now, we could make it before nightfall."

"Let's do it.." Blair breathed, her smile too hard for words to actually come out of her mouth.

Rome would wait for the other two to get loaded and eat. Somewhere in the middle of their packing a grin grew on his face and he leaned towards the door. He looked like a wolf on the scent of wounded game. He stripped himself of almost all of his supplies but for a knife and a semi-automatic handgun with a half-empty clip.

"I hear a Hunter," he said quietly. "Be right back." He glanced at Aimi, figuring she was the only one who might give a shit before he opened the door as quietly and quickly as possible and slipped out into the dark.

Aimi opened her mouth to protest but Rome had already disappeared, "I hate it when he does that," she sighed softly. "Odds are one of these days he's not going to come back."

Somehow, even after weeks of zombies he never really got his fill of the chase, the fight and not many special infected other than Boomers had taken the time to sink into the subway, though there had been a few Witches when he first arrived. It didn't take long for the Hunter to find him and even less time for them to tussle. Amazingly, Rome only shot twice and finished the job with his fists and the knife. He challenged himself to save rounds. He was completely insane.

Cherry was curious to see what the wolfish man was about to do and had stepped outside in time to see the end of the brief encounter. Rome was the clear winner. "Not bad," she grinned with admiration. She was really beginning to like this fellow. He had a streak of recklessness much like her own.

He smirked at her, surprised she had come to watch, surprised she had done nothing more than watch whereas others would have interfered. His expression was challenging but he didn't comment further. Again, when he made it back to the door he knocked very lightly and let himself back in. "Ready?"

"I think we've found some great allies," Cherry said, looking to Blair. Blair nodded vigorously in return.

Aimi was relieved to see Rome unharmed. "I wish you wouldn't do that," she told him as she turned away and began packing a bag for her own supplies. She grabbed some extra clothes, toothbrush, first aid kit, and some tools in case she'd need to make more bombs later on. She then packed another bag for Rome, placing more weapons in his. She handed the pack to Rome and put her own over her shoulders.

"Just raising my stats," he explained in words he figured she had to understand. He took the bag and secured it on his back, easily ignoring the new set of scratches bleeding on his shoulder from the brief encounter.

"I think we're good to go!" Aimi finished the checklist in her head. After that being said Rome pointed at Blair.

"Navigation, lead the way." It wasn't a question. She had been elected to direct them. He somehow managed to keep the pace, though as they hustled out of the room and down the tunnel. It was in their best interest to be quiet since sound carried in the narrow tunnel but it wasn't long before they were up and out. If Cherry could keep her shit together with one flashlight and not a whole bunch of noise, the subway wouldn't be too much of a problem. Rome and Aimi knew how to handle the landscape. Even Rome's fighting style had adapted some to accommodate.

Outside, the formation changed, though Blair was still in charge of leading the way. Rome was ready for a horde at any moment, equipped as he was with the makeshift flamethrower but for the most part it was small clumps of average infected. Rome didn't have to push the pace that much. Having the map in her head and not needing a light to view it, she found the quicker routes. Once outside Blair had to take a small moment and gather her surroundings. She scoped out the street signs and nodded her head towards the hospital.

"Block and a half that way." She waited for people to reload and catch a breather. Once everyone was set she started off again. Aside from her aim growing more and more accurate as they went along, Blair felt pride swell in her chest. She was being useful and helping people survive!

Derick exhaled a cloud of smoke as he waited for Amika to come back. She had found a small corner store and wanted to explore it. Derick figured she could handle herself and he wanted to smoke a cigarette before having to deal with Amika's little friend. Derick was usually a very calm, reasonable guy but when it came to his cigarettes…

"Oh?" He flicked the cigarette as he noticed movement down one of the streets. He readied his gun and started to walk towards them. He would either take them all out or lead them to the safe room. Depended on if any one of them was infected.

"Hey," Blair slowly came to a stop and squinted her blue green eyes, "I think someone's there.."

"Are anyone of you infected?" Derick kept his voice firm and low, he didn't want to startle them or any zombies close by.

"Yes, dumbass, that's why we're still alive and acting as an organized group," Rome supplied, overwhelmed with gratitude that they'd found someone with a high IQ.

"Oh," Derick lowered his gun and straightened up, changing his composure, "Alright, I'll lead you to a safe room. Follow me."


	10. Chapter X  Reunion

Characters belong to us, everything else is copyright to Valve

Chapter X – Reunion

Blair looked back to her team before shrugging and followed in after the stranger. He led them into the hospital and towards this huge red steel door. She had only seen a few of them in her journey of survival. It seemed sturdy as Derick grunted to open it. Walking in, her green eyes danced around the supplies and counter tops until her eyes rested on the other people in the room. One of them looked absolutely gorgeous and the other-

"Farrah?!" Her voice reached a higher octave as she squealed the midget's name.

Farrah awakened from her coma at the sound of her name, "Blair!" she cried and leaped up. She would've hugged her if it wasn't for Blair's touch phobia. "You know what, I'm just gonna start touching you and you're going to learn to like it!" she cried and hugged her anyways.

"Isn't that rape?" Aubrey questioned. She studied the newcomers with distaste. All of them were relatively attractive, but clearly posed no competition to herself so she relaxed. Blair had to shake off her goose bumps, but it was the end of the world and she did really like Farrah in the time she knew her. Her own arms came around the little blond, though she noticed the bandages and was gentle.

"What a touching reunion," Rome murmured sarcastically despite grinning. He examined the room and found a place to set down his bag. If they were going to be there for awhile, no reason not to but that didn't at all mean he would readily share. His mind set was still that of looking out for himself and Aimi, which would have surprised him if he thought about it. Aimi stood at the back of the group, feeling a growing anxiety. She hated being in big groups of people, especially when she didn't know anyone.

"Everyone! This is Farrah. Farrah this is Cherry, Aimi, and Rome," She turned away from Farrah and pulled her arms away from her quickly. She gestured to each person respectfully. "I know her from.."

Blair trailed off sadly and turned to look down at Farrah. "Was Amika with you when it happened?"

"Yes. She was supposed to be with you," Farrah turned to question Derick. Derick merely shrugged, having gotten distracted with the newcomers he had forgotten about Amika.

"Wait, how do you know Amika?" Aubrey's attention was caught by Blair. She studied the girl more critically as she waited for an answer.

"She's my girlfriend." Blair, in turn, studied Aubrey. Not liking the tone in her voice as she asked.

"Do I sense a cat-fight in the making?," Rome asked in a hushed voice, turning his eyes to Derick briefly, arms crossed. Derick, remembering Aubrey's previous actions, nodded to him.

"Wait, she's alive?" Blair's gaze moved from Aubrey to Derick as she realized that Aubrey knowing Amika meant she had survived.

"This isn't going to end well," Farrah muttered under her breath. Derick nodded slowly, seemingly at both women.

"Last time I checked.." He glanced at the door. Maybe he should have waited for her before leading the new survivors inside.

"Where is she?" Blair asked Derick just as the door to the safe room opened.

"Thanks for waiting for me Derick-Who the hell are these people?" Amika started off sarcastically then was caught off guard by the new faces. She set down her bag and surveyed the crowd.

As Amika walked in, Aubrey leaped from her perch on the counter and grabbed her by the face, giving her a passionate kiss. After a moment, she released her, "I was so worried about you when you didn't come back with Derick," she said, then turned to see Blair's reaction.

"My turn!" Cherry called, pushing herself out towards the middle of the room. "No? Anyone? Any takers?" Roman laughed openly at Cherry's offer. The comedic timing was perfect.

"Ooh," he commented softly, "the _other woman_ strikes first. What will the girlfriend do now?"

Amika, although thrown the fuck off, immediately accepted the kiss and her hands found themselves on the other girls body. When Aubrey pulled away Amika barely registered the words said to her, but when Aubrey turned Amika's eyes followed.

"B-Blair?" Blair was pissed. It was evident as flecks of brown dotted her eyes. Amika pushed past Aubrey, as if forgotten, and pulled Blair into a tight hug, even lifting her off of the ground.

"I'm so happy you're alive!" Blair hugged her back, though her eyes lingered on Aubrey's tiny frame.

"Just not happy enough to be faithful!," Rome piped up in a hush again, clearly amused. Derick chuckled, hands in his pockets and still leaning against the wall. This new guy, Rome, had very entertaining comments.

"Not complaining about being stuck with a bunch of hot, kick ass lesbians at the end of the world - not at all - but if we're in charge of restocking the human race they better be open minded." He smirked at Derick.

Aubrey was positively seething, but she wasn't about to show it. Instead she pretended to not be bothered by it and turned her attention to the men of the room. "Anyone know where a girl can get a hot shower? I feel so dirty."

"Actually," Amika released Blair and turned to speak to Aubrey, "There's a corner store not far from here that has working water in the apartment above it."

This did not make Blair happy. She kept her mouth closed, though she glared at Aubrey the entire time. If Derick were around people he was comfortable with he would have been rolling on the floor laughing. Instead he kept it to chuckles as he coolly stayed against the wall. Rome shoved himself to a stand and grabbed his bag. A shower sounded good even though the drama was plenty fun.

"Aimi? Shower?" She could come with him or he would go alone. It made no difference to him and for once there was no crude intent in the question.

"Shouldn't we be trying to get to the helipad?" Aimi's timid voice sounded.

"He announced that he wouldn't be leaving until someone sounded the radio. Farrah over here suffered a lot of damage. I want to wait one more day until we head out." Amika answered.

"I'm feeling much bet-" Farrah started, foreseeing where Aubrey's antics might lead, but was quickly silenced by Cherry.

"You look like you could use another day, munchkin," Cherry interrupted, then more quietly, "Don't ruin this for me!"

"Can a group this size even fit on one of those flying death boxes?" Rome quipped. Perhaps Aimi was right, maybe they should leave in smaller sets.

"You can try to all fit in.. I might actually stay here, but I'm willing to help you guys get there." Derick finally got off of the wall. Rome shrugged.

"Either way is fine with me. Staying or going." He asked again but this time looked much more ready to leave the room.

"Actually, a standard helicopter can hold four, maybe five passengers," Aimi answered.

"And military grade?" Rome continued to stare at Aimi. She was a little box of useful information... and sometimes not so useful but still.. If they had to make radio contact before a helicopter came they would probably let them know how many people were leaving and could either make multiple trips, send more than one chopper or at least a bigger one but then again, who knew what the CEDA had at their disposal.

"Well military transports can hold 35-55 depending on the size, but I'm not sure if the helipad is equipped for those types of helicopters," Aimi replied.

"Guess not.. It's just a hospital." He scratched his head. All the talking was making him crabby and probably all of the estrogen.

"Alright, are you coming with me or not?," he asked her pointedly one final time.

"Uhm, yes," Aimi replied. She wished they were going to the helicopter, but either way she didn't want to be left with people she didn't know. Although she had only known Rome a few days longer, she definitely felt more at ease with him around.

Amika ventured closer to the door, nodding at the new fellow to follow her. "I'll take whoever wants a shower."

She needed to get out of the room. All the tension was making her feel claustrophobic. She generally liked meeting new faces, but it was mainly the tension between Blair and Aubrey that made her feel anxious. She would prefer to ignore it for now.

"Right behind ya," Aubrey called, following Amika out of the room. As soon as Amika was out of her line of vision, she turned and glared at Blair, pointedly running her index finger across her throat menacingly. Then smiled winningly at the rest that were still in the room as she sprinted off to catch up with Amika. Derick couldn't help himself and fell into fits of laughter at Aubrey. He avoided Blair's heated gaze, but really couldn't keep his straight face much longer.

Amika had her guns loaded and ready. She glanced back at the group and almost wanted to laugh. It was only the new guy, the Asian chick, and Aubrey. Four sets of people seemed to be the thing nowadays.

"It's not far and there wasn't any infected around when I left. It shouldn't take long." She cocked her pistol and pulled Aubrey a bit closer to her, so she could protect her better if anything decided to show up. Rome kept behind Aimi. He hadn't expected a guide and didn't care a lick for Aubrey one way or the other, kept his eyes peeled and moved stealthily along. He didn't reply to her comment as they went along.

Aimi was studying the area around them, knowing the odds of them making it the whole way without coming across any infected were pretty low. Suddenly, she spotted movement up ahead. "Charger!" she cried and quickly pulled a Molotov out of her back. She carefully aimed and then whipped it at the fast infected.

Aubrey watched as it burst into flames. Only it didn't stop, it was headed straight for the sexy Asian! Aubrey felt a compelling urge to yell a warning, if only to protect her attractive male teammate but suddenly felt the tongue of a smoker wrap around her neck. It quickly began to drag her away.

Rome whipped out his knife and suddenly looked serious. It didn't last long. He began to grin as he charged the Charger. It was probably the most stupid decision he'd ever made... at least in the top ten. All he had to do was make it miss and he'd have an opening, if a brief one..

"Aubrey!" Amika first held an offensive pose for the Charger but Aimi clearly had an even better approach. She heard the casting noise and it snapped her attention to the girl that had been behind her. She chased after her. At first her eyes looked for the Smoker, but as seconds ticked by she aimed at the long, slimy tongue that had a hold of the pretty girl.

The special infected wasn't used to Rome's approach but it only seemed to further enrage it as it plowed towards him. It bellowed aggressively. Somehow, Rome timed things perfectly - or he was disgustingly lucky. Using the heavy arm it kept in front of it, the Asian American leapt acrobatically, kicked off from the calloused appendage and basically landed on its face. It was a terrible position to be in but lucky for him momentum didn't allow him to stay there for long and he had to clutch the top of its tiny head to keep from flying off the beasts back.

Amika shot at the tongue a couple times, but the last was a well placed bullet and it broke the appendage. She slid to a stop and followed it as it got sucked back into the special infected. She took a step back and aimed. She pulled the trigger and smoke filled the air from down the corner.

_'Yes!_' Amika kept her mental cheer to herself as she rushed towards Aubrey. She knelt next to the gasping girl and tore the tongue from her throat.

Aimee watched the two battles, not sure where to offer her help or if it was needed at all. Then she heard the cry of the Hunter. Quickly her brown eyes tried to pinpoint its location. She heard the cry again and raised her head to see it leaping towards her. She reached for her pistol as she spun out of the way. It slid passed her only to regain its footing and leap again.

"Fuck!" He clung to the strip of fabric running over the monsters shoulder with one hand as the creature finally figured out what had happened and began to express its displeasure. It made a series of short, furious sounds then bellowed again and began to reach for him. Rome let the creature reach for him twice before using the rhythm of motion it had set against it. He somersaulted over its shoulder, gripped his knife with two hands and stabbed it into the monster's neck as deeply as he could drive it then used the full weight of his body to drag the blade from one side to the other.

Aimi fired shot after shot but still the Hunter stalked her. She was out of breath from all the bobbing, weaving and shooting. It took another leap and this time she wasn't fast enough. It clipped her shoulder and she was knocked to the ground. She rolled to her back in time to see it pounce. She had one bullet left. She fired. The Hunter fell dead at her feet.

Amika glanced back at the other two, but Aubrey and herself weren't in immediate danger. She aimed and took down a few stray infected that stumbled out into the street at the commotion. Amika turned back to give Aubrey a reassuring smile, expecting a snappy comment back, "You gonna live?"

Aubrey was about to say "took you long enough," but changed her mind. She flashed Amika a warm, thankful smile. "With you here, of course."

It wasn't the cleanest kill Rome had ever made what with all the gurgling that ensued but with some more hacking and dodging it was effective. He spit out zombie goo and used his forearm to clear some of the mess from his face. He turned and looked around for more and for Aimi. She seemed fine. He reloaded and looped back towards her and the other two, more interested than ever in a shower. He looked Aimi over once he was closer to check her status and then nodded towards the purple girl and the other woman.

"What're they doing, takin' a nap?"

Amika shook her bangs at the total opposite response she received. It took her so off guard that all she could do was smile. Even hearing Rome's comment didn't falter the tugging at the corners of her mouth. She helped Aubrey to her feet and turned back to the other people.

"That shower sounds really nice about now, eh?" It was a failed attempt at easing the air, but it was an attempt nonetheless. She reloaded her gun and started towards the apartment. This time Aubrey was in front of her and they moved at a faster pace.

Meanwhile, Derick felt himself grow uneasy but he didn't alert the three other females of his discomfort. Blair has started to talk to Farrah again and included Cherry on the conversation, while they both munched on the food provided for them.

"So what's your number?" Cherry asked, turning to Derick.

"One." Derick said with a smile as he turned his attention to her.

Cherry started to laugh, "Wait, is he serious? You must've had more sexual partners than that."

"No, just you." He chuckled smoothly.

"You haven't had me," Cherry raised her eyebrow, but she was smiling.

"Yeah, I have." He smiled broadly, "I just hope the reality is better than the fantasy."

He laughed a bit louder, letting her know he was joking. It was the end of the world; it didn't hurt to push his game.

"Guess you'll have to wait and find out," Cherry grinned mischievously.

Aimi followed the pair, rubbing her shoulder absently. She could feel the bruise blossoming.

"Is this it?" Aubrey eyed the corner store doubtfully.

"Yeah." Amika lead them inside. Amika closed the door behind them. She paused a moment and then continued on as they reached further inside the store. She went to the back and opened another door that lead to a flight of stairs. Ascending them Amika heard that something was off and she pulled out her pistol again.

She opened the apartment door and with her gun poised she entered the room. A noise was made in the kitchen and Amika leaped into it, her finger on the trigger. Rome kept a diligent guard on the back half of the party, still waiting for an excuse to use his flamethrower.

"What the hell?" Sebastien strolled out of the back room, bloody machete in hand. "Fuck. I know you."


	11. Chapter XI  Cow Tipping

Characters belong to us, everything else is copyright to Valve

Chapter XI – Cow Tipping

"Fuck, I know you too." Amika lowered her gun in disbelief. Rome relaxed a little at the sound of a conscious human knowing that was one target he couldn't attack, at least not without a good reason. He shut and locked the door after they entered quietly behind them.

"Small talk later. Shower now. Aimi, go first." He was still wired from the attack and looked pretty game for another go if anyone wanted to challenge him. Now that they were inside he'd brush past anyone in his way in search of the bathroom with a hand on Aimi's back, steering her further inside.

Aimi grabbed Rome's hand and pulled him along with her. She wasn't about to go anywhere alone. He poked his head in the bathroom to check it out, as though there would a zombie filled hole in the wall. Finding it all clear, he sifted around in his supplies bag and produced a little vial of liquid dish soap. He left it on the sink for her to use.

"I'll try to find a towel," he offered, having nothing better to do and knowing he'd need one soon too. Roman shut the door behind her and looked around. There wasn't much in the way of towels but he found a couple of hand towels and brought them back. They would have to do. Then he stood sentry at the door to the bathroom.

"Thanks," Aimi replied and turned on the water. She would try her best to shower quickly.

"How do you know him?" Aubrey asked Amika suspiciously, crossing her arms across her chest.

"This is the bastard who was with me when the outbreak happened. He crashed into my car.. and then ditched me at the hospital." Amika's tone was not the friendliest and she wanted to aim her gun at him once more. She glanced over at Aubrey, finding her demeanor cute, though she would never outwardly admit it.

"You've been holed up in here the whole time?" Amika tucked her gun away and glanced around. She spotted the couches she had seen before and lead Aubrey to them. She set her backpack down on the ground before sitting. Might as well get comfortable while they waited for Roman and Aimi.

Hearing Amika's explanation, Aubrey calmed down and settled herself next to Amika on the sofa. Everything in the apartment was filthy. It made her extremely uncomfortable. As if to agree, the sofa wheezed dust as she sat down. She took very shallow breaths, trying not to inhale it.

"Found yourself a new mate?" Sebastien asked, ignoring Amika's question. He hated questions, made him feel like he was in an interrogation. While waiting for Amika's reply, "You guys want anything?"

"Have any coffee? Or juice?" Aubrey asked hopefully.

"I'm okay." Amika leaned back, both hands resting behind her head. The apartment seemed like his usual abode. Dirty, dark, and it seemed like the end of the world when you entered it. Aubrey's drink came as Roman ventured back into the bathroom and Aimi came out.

"I've got juice. Secret recipe," he winked at Aubrey as he came back with the cold glass of red fluid. Aubrey inspected the glass Sebastien offered her. It seemed clean enough, and it smelled good- like strawberries.

"Finished!" Aimi popped out, hair damp but smelling fresh. She had put on clean clothes and was feeling invigorated. Roman took a moment to look at her, it hadn't at all missed him that she was a cutie with giant jugs. Then he offered her one of the towels he found.

"That's all I found."

"Thanks, but I just leaned out the window and let the breeze dry me off," Aimi declined to take the towel.

"Lucky breeze," he commented and opened the door to the bathroom wider to switch places with her. Aimi slid by, her breasts brushing against Rome as she did so. She smiled at him and walked into the living room where the other girls were. She took one look at the furniture and decided to stand. Roman watched her as she moved away his expression neutral but his eyes practically burning into her. A little growling noise left him.

He was in and out of the shower in about 5 minutes. It would have taken him less time if it weren't for the coagulated blood-snot-goop the zombie had slobbered him with as he finished it off. He washed his shirt, had no hope for his pants and decided dirty jeans were better than wet dirty jeans. Toweling himself off quickly with one of the hand towels, Rome left the other on the sink but tucked the vial of soap back in his pack.

Amika caught a look at Aimi as she came out of the shower, maybe lingering a bit more than she intended. Her eyes snapped back to Aubrey, the displeased look made her smile. She leaned forward and kissed the side of her head. "You can shower before me if you want."

Aubrey's look was murderous but she quickly closed her eyes to temper it. The real battle was with Blair. "Thanks, babe," she replied. She paused for a languorous stretch in front of Amika before heading to the shower. She didn't bother to search for a towel.

Rome left the bathroom shirtless, clean and much more satisfied with things than before. He'd eaten, fought a fair amount and now he was showered. Life was damn good. Meanwhile, Amika held back a laugh at Aubrey, but got up a couple moments after she went into the shower. She picked up her bag and knocked on the bathroom door a few times.

"Who is it?" Aubrey answered, enjoying the feel of hot, clean water on her skin.

"Amika. Don't you want soap and such? I still have the stuff we got from CVS." She stated her only purpose for bothering the beautiful diva.

Aubrey smiled, her plan working. "Yes please!" she called to Amika.

She shook her head with a sigh, imagining Aubrey to order her to set down the bag and leave the room. She closed the door behind her, not wanting Sebastien to get any ideas, and unzipped the bag. She dug out the necessary items and held them in her hands. She took a deep breath and stepped closer to the shower, the water sounding amazing from her side.

"Here." Amika tapped the bottles against the blurry glass, alerting Aubrey that the items were at her disposal. Aubrey slid the glass door wide open, watching as Amika's jaw dropped. While she had her momentarily dazed, Aubrey dumped the bottles into the tub and grabbed Amika by the hands, pulling her inside.

Amika stripped out of her clothes at lightning speeds. She had wanted this since she had seen Aubrey in a shower the first time. Blair was the last thing on her mind as she drew the other girl close to her body and brought her into a long deep kiss.

Rome moved into the main room and behind Aimi and remained there casually, also more interested in standing than sitting, canvas pack slung over one shoulder. He didn't look around much. His eyes would shift towards whatever moved and remain there until something or someone else moved as though he'd de-evolved in the last couple weeks.

"So..." Sebastien disturbed the silence. Rome's dark brown eyes flicked over to him and landed on him intently, fixed, focused. "Do any cow-tipping lately?"

Rome stared for a moment, wondering if this clown actually thought he was funny or if he was trying to ask a serious question. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd actually seen a cow.. let alone tipped it. He failed to formulate a reply and continued to stare.

"What's taking them so long," Aimi wondered aloud.

"Purple hasn't come back from the bathroom yet. Don't ask if you don't know already."

"You mean they're... oh," Aimi trailed off, a blush warming her cheeks.

"Mmhmm." He looked down at her in front of him, tempted to do with her what Amika was doing with Aubrey - or the other way around as the case may have been.

"You know I have a spare bedroom," Sebastien offered, catching the look Rome was giving Aimi.

If the living room was this filthy, Aimi was afraid to see the bedroom. "Uhm, we're good. Thanks." Rome gave him an up-nod.

"Thanks man, but she's a prude and I ain't hauling a pregnant chick around."

Sebastien dug around in his pocket for a second before pulling out a lengthy strip of unused condoms. "Here, you need 'em more than I do."

He leaned around Aimi and took the offered prize saying, "You, sir, are a survivor," by way of compliment and nodded gratefully. He tucked them away in a pocket, bouncing his eyebrows at Aimi. If Aimi's cheeks could have gotten redder, she would have been a tomato. Sebastien grinned wolfishly at the pair in response.

"The average condom can hold six liters of water before bursting!" Aimi quipped nervously. Rome leaned towards her flushed face and whispered, "And only one of me," before kissing her on the cheek and resuming his former position. Aimi smiled, her cheeks positively on fire.

It was then that Aubrey reappeared, looking clean and gorgeous per usual. She had left Amika in the bathroom to recover. Amika didn't take that long to "recover" and exited the bathroom a few minutes after Aubrey. She felt clean, refreshed.. and satisfied. Her pack was slung over her shoulder and her hair was pulled up into a ponytail. Aubrey avoided the couch this time, but retrieved her juice from the coffee table and finally took a drink. It tasted delicious, although it had a strange aftertaste.

"No!" Amika knocked the glass from Aubrey's hand. She had already downed half the contents by the time Amika reacted, but Amika saved her from taking the whole 'dose'. She glared at Sebastien while grabbing Aubrey and holding her close, as if she could fight the effects of the drugs she just took.

"What's wrong with you?" Aubrey pushed herself away from Amika, "That was the only juice I've come across in weeks!" Having been satisfied, she was back to her bitchier self.

"There's more where that came from," Sebastien replied, leaping up to get more.

"Damn it, Sebastien." Amika continued to attempt to kill him with her eyes, "What did you put in it?" Rome raised an eyebrow but didn't interfere or speak up on anyone's behalf.

'_Drama, drama and more drama_...' Rome rolled his eyes.

"You'll be thanking me later," Sebastien winked at Amika, "Care for a taste yourself?" He offered her the freshly mixed glass. Aubrey snatched it from his hand before Amika could answer and took several long drinks.

"Hey!" Amika snatched it from her and took a hearty swig, as if making a point of drinking more than her in fewer gulps. The after taste made her stick her tongue out. "Fuck... He spiked it."

"Give it back!" Aubrey cried. "You're imagining things! Who would bother with drugs at a time like this?" she snapped, hand on hip. Sebastien began laughing uncontrollably.

"You don't know Sebastien.. You just met him. I've known him since high school.. and he definitely spiked it." Amika giggled.

"Well, they'll make better bait drugged..," Rome muttered off-hand not trying to keep the opinion from anyone.

"Is it just me, or is it hot in here?" Aubrey asked, her skin suddenly felt hot and tingly.

"We need to get back to the safe room, I don't like it here," Aimi whispered.

"Fuck 'em," he said with regards to the two chemically unstable women. He looked out the window behind them. It was getting to a point where the sun was starting to disappear behind apartments and other shorter buildings. If they were going to leave, just the two of them, they'd have to do it now.

"Let's go." He loaded his gun with a full clip and moved the flamethrower to an accessible position. Still shirtless and not about to spare seconds getting a thin layer of fabric on, he reached for Aimi's hand and headed for the door.

"Thanks for everything, man. Have a good night." Aimi followed quickly after Rome, anxious to get out of the dirty room and away from the dirty man.

"Good luck," she called to the two women, hoping they would fare well but not wanting to stick around to make sure of it.

"Whatever man, peace," Sebastien called after them, slamming the door shut behind them. Amika waved them off nonchalantly before grabbing Aubrey by her hips and kissing her. Her skin felt like it glowed and the only thing on her mind was Aubrey, especially after that amazing shower. As the door slammed Amika pulled Aubrey's legs around her waist and pushed her back against the wall. High or not, Amika wasn't going near Sebastien's couches again.

Aubrey felt like she was in heaven. Every touch felt like an explosion of stars on her skin. And was it her imagination or could she see fireworks? It didn't matter as she closed her eyes and enjoyed the rush she was feeling from the drugs and Amika.

"Starting without me?" Sebastien chuckled as he walked up to the pair and picked them both up with his bare hands, carrying them off to the bedroom where he collapsed with them onto the bed. Despite her mouth on Aubrey's neck, her leg shot out at Sebastien. She had been high enough times with him to automatically ward him off. She also was protective enough of Aubrey to kick into gear. At the moment, no one could touch Aubrey but her.

Sebastien dodged the kick and then got an idea. He walked over to his dresser and pulled out multiple pairs of police grade handcuffs, figuring he'd have to "persuade" Amika in order to get some playtime. While she was distracted with Aubrey, he leaped forward and grabbed her by the ankles, quickly cuffing her feet together.

As soon as Amika had her feet bound she whipped out her pistol from her lower back. Gun cocked and ready, she aimed and pulled the trigger. Sebastien staggered backwards from the force of the bullet, but was unable to catch his balance. He fell backwards and crashed through the glass window that was behind him. "Help!" he cried, as his pants caught on the broken glass in the frame and kept him from plummeting to the ground.

Amika didn't say anything but she did lean over the bed to the dresser. She searched around for the key so she could uncuff her feet. It almost seemed that Sebastien had been forgotten as soon as he 'left' the room. The search was beginning to become a challenge. All the various items in the drawer touched her skin and caused different sensations to course through her. Finally finding it, she pulled her feet on the bed and started to look for the keyhole.

"I could use some help guys!" he was afraid to move, in case his jeans would rip but he was slowly falling out of them. "Amika? Hot chick? Anyone?" _Damn, I knew I should have worn a belt today..._

Finally free from the restraints she turned her attention to Aubrey, who was petting the lamp next to her. She grabbed her ankle to pull her closer and planted a kiss on her shoulder before her mouth trailed to her neck.


	12. Chapter XII  Sirens

Characters belong to us, everything else is copyright to Valve

Chapter XII – Sirens

Had it been a half an hour earlier in the day, Rome would have whipped himself back around and knocked Sebastien's lights out for having the nerve to _slam_ the door with sound-sensitive zombies around. Lucky for the apartment keeper, he had to worry about their timing and dashed on.

His memory was nothing like Blair's but his instincts were sharp. He lead Aimi quickly and effectively, not letting go of her hand except in situations he absolutely needed both of them. For the most part, the special infected seemed to have cleared out of the area but a Jockey and a Smoker interrupted their progress briefly.

Aimi pulled out her pistols as she spotted the special infected. "You want Smoker or Jockey?" she called to Rome, figuring they could each take one. "Unless you want both..." He grinned at her question.

"I'll start with the Jockey," he volunteered. It was more of a hands-on fight rather than the Smoker which she could shoot from a distance or pipe bomb if absolutely necessary - though that would invite more attention. He moved towards the creepy little infected which was giggling as if amused by his decision. Rome was quick. He knew it wanted to climb up his back so made certain to act first, managed to more or less pin the creature and then enjoyed pummeling it into oblivion with one powerful punch after another.

Aimi was relieved at his choice. She didn't like the creepy comedians one bit. Quickly she targeted the Smoker with her pistols and began firing. It focused in on her and casts its tongue after her. As the tongue began to circle around her waist, she managed to make a headshot and the raspy infected exploded into a cloud of smoke. Coughing, she pulled the slimy tongue off her body, upset that it had soiled her fresh clothes, and turned to see how Rome was faring.

"Nice work," she smiled appreciatively, not at all surprised to see the pummeled creature at his feet.

"Thanks," he said between heavy breaths. His fists were once again covered in goop but he looked intensely satisfied if completely demented. He flicked fluids off his hands as well as he could and looked around at her and then behind her. Eventually he gave in and wiped his hands off on his pants.

"Nice shooting." He offered his hand but would understand if she declined. "C'mon."

She eyed his outstretched hand hesitantly but felt it would be rude to refuse. Besides, she liked the comfort it provided, so she took it after placing one of her pistols back in her pack. They finished the rest of the route relatively quickly and made it back to the hospital safe-house before nightfall.

He tapped at the door lightly and waited to be let in, gun and Aimi in hand and prepared for a last minute attack. Cherry opened the door after hearing the knock, not bothering to see who it was. After all, zombies didn't waste time with knocking so who else could it be?

"Hey guys!" she grinned cheerfully, then peered out looking for the other two, "Weren't there four of you when you left?"

Farrah pushed Cherry aside as she too went to look out, "Where's Amika?" she asked, not caring an ounce about Aubrey.

"Well, you see," Aimi shifted uncomfortably on her feet, knowing the situation was about to get more tense, "They ran into an old friend, Sebastien, I think, was his name?" she turned to Rome for clarification.

"Ohhh," Farrah could see where this was leading, "This can't be good." Rome scowled fiercely at all the women involved.

"You airheads, get out of the damn way." He shoved Aimi into the room with his chest and shut the door behind him. He shook his head with disbelief.

"Women, I swear to god.. They drank something they shouldn't have. Purple said what's-his-nuts spiked the drink, then the slutty one drank some more of it and Purple chugged the rest - I have no fucking idea why. Anyway, they were starting to get frisky again and I wasn't going to spend any more time there than I had to, so we left." He made a gesture to shoo them away as he sought out a corner to sit down with his bag of supplies to settle in for a while and probably get a shirt on at some point.

"Again?" That seemed to be the only thing Blair heard as she 'pushed' herself to the front of the room as well. She turned and grabbed a gun from the counter and marched up to the door. She opened it just enough for her to slip through. Derick just watched with wide eyes and pulled out a cigarette. It rested on his lip but he didn't light it just yet, as if his lighter would spark up an explosion from Blair's attitude. She had also grabbed his gun, but he didn't interfere.

Looking up at Derick from the corner he'd settled into, Rome shook his head and commented, "Maybe by morning we all WILL be able to fit into a copter." At this rate, party dwindling, it was definitely a possibility.

Blair had taken note of the corner store the first time she was at this hospital when she was four. It wouldn't take long for her to get there. It seemed that the infected sensed her mood, because she didn't encounter any on the way there. Farrah wasn't about to let Blair go off on her own she could only imagine what was going on at that apartment, and it wasn't going to be pretty. Quickly grabbing her pistols and some ammo, she chased after her hard-headed friend hoping this would somehow end well.

Cherry was annoyed that she had missed out on the fun, but wasn't about to get into the middle of the drama. She'd much rather lay back in the safe house and take a nap. She hopped up on the cot Farrah had freed up and promptly fell asleep.

Blair did raise an eyebrow at the man who was hanging from the window but didn't stop to ask questions, though it did cause her to worry. Maybe a Tank had come by and completely mutilated Aubrey's face and body. She started to run, wondering what had happened and why he wasn't being helped. She sped up the stairs and kicked open the door to the apartment.

She heard breathy moans as she entered, it made her heart sink but it soon made her blood boil. She quickly found the room they were in. She kicked Amika from her perch atop the girl and aimed her massive shotgun at Aubrey.

"I'm still out here!" Sebastien cried, to no response. He was holding on to his pants for dear life. This was not the way he had intended to leave the world.

Farrah was no match for Blair's angry pace. She paused outside the corner store, hoping to catch her breath before going in. Hearing a loud male voice, she glanced up to see Sebastien hanging out the second floor window. "Sebastien?" she called, not quite believing her eyes.

"Midget?" he called back, squinting in the darkness, unable to make out who it was, only able to detect the shortness in height.

"It's Sebastien alright," Farah muttered angrily under her breath. For a brief second before he had replied, she had contemplated helping him. Well, not anymore. She marched into the building to help her friends.

The world was just a blur of color and pinpricks of light, all Aubrey knew was that the wonderful sensations on her skin had halted, "Amika, why'd you stop?" she moaned breathlessly.

"What the fuck Aubrey...?" She had begun to climb back on top of the bed, rather irritated that her kisses down Aubrey's body halted. Her light brown eyes slowly grasped what was going on.

"B-Blair!? uhm, this..this isn't what it looks like..?" Amika spouted out the first thing that came to her foggy mind, though she didn't have a shirt on and Aubrey was in her underwear.

"Shut up. You." She poked Aubrey's chest with the tip of her gun. "Off the bed."

Aubrey had ingested far too much of the drug to be able to concentrate on what was being said or who was saying it. Her brain was overloading on physical sensation alone. She had never felt more alive, more free as she writhed on the bed, rubbing her limbs over the silkiest sheets she'd ever touched.

The moment Farrah entered the room, she could feel the hostility. She quickly absorbed what was going on and tried to think of a way to ease the tension. For once, she didn't have an answer. And she was torn. She extremely disliked Aubrey and was upset that Amika had pushed Blair to this point, but she also didn't want to see anyone die. She knew Aubrey's death would severely affect Amika. "Blair, they've been drugged. Can we put the gun down and talk about this?"

"No, Farrah.. Someone is dying and this delirious skanky bitch is at the top of my list." Her eyes narrowed and she ignored the actions being performed by Aubrey. Amika on the other hand couldn't tear her wide pupil eyes from the girl, while she pet her own hair.

Blair then turned the gun on Amika, feeling even more enraged that she was staring at Aubrey despite the drugs. Her finger itched to actually pull the trigger. Though, movement from the window startled her and she shot the gun. The sound of Sebastien as he hit the cold pavement was heard from the window.

"Oops?" Blair uttered after she gained composure. The two girls clearly still out of it she sighed in defeat. It hadn't hit her yet that she had shot a living breathing normal appetite human..

"Don't worry about him, he's like a cockroach. Those bastards never die," Farrah shrugged off Sebastien's fall.

"Let's let them come down.. we can leave them in here.. They'll probably be too busy with each other to wander off anyways.." Blair sniffled a bit but no tears came to her eyes. She ushered Farrah out of the room before patting her on the shoulder and walking away. If Farrah wasn't right behind her she would wait at the door for her. She swore to herself that once Amika was normal she was in for a kick in the ass.. As for Aubrey she would debate her death.

Amika normally would have felt bad but under the spell of the "kool-aid" she soon got enthralled with the sheets as well. Her fingers eventually found Aubrey's hair, then her face, and soon enough she was tasting the other girl's delicious skin again. Aubrey was in euphoria. She melted back against the sheets, feeling too relaxed to move.

Farrah breathed a sigh of relief as Blair put the gun down but she knew the battle was far from over. The emotional war had just begun. Unsure of what to say or do in this situation, being that both Blair and Amika were her friends, the latter being just as good as a sister, Farrah stayed quiet. If Blair needed a shoulder to cry on or an ear to talk to, she would gladly be there for her friend but at the same time she wasn't going to press the issue.

~

Luck was with them, though it seemed strongly against others. From down the street the now uncommon shrilling sound of a police siren rose up. Its plaintive notes became louder and louder and more and more poignant until a cop car with full siren and blazing light bar passed by outside. It was flying - but only for the moment.

"Should have siphoned more gas!" Feo shouted over the blaring siren.

"Was working on it when big-ugly showed up!" Dev answered back just as loudly.

"Oh yea.. Oh well." Feo adjusted the automatic rifle on his shoulder and started squeezing off shots out the back window at the Tank pursuing the automobile. The Tank was only the beginning of their troubles. Unable to turn off the siren as the car was in less than perfect condition the two idiots were attracting a Horde of unusually immense proportions. The siren had been the loudest and most unexpected sound in days other than the odd explosion. Basically, they were fucked.

"Alright, this sucks. Officially. What the fuck are we gonna do?" Dev flicked his eyes towards Feo while he drove.

"Drive into something that explodes?" Feo didn't look back, though he momentarily stopped shooting.

"Like what?!" Dev managed to give Feo a baffled look before turning his attention back to the road.

"Uhhh.. Hey! Do I have to do all the thinking? I think there's a small gas station on 14th. Turn left here. NO NO LEFT! Damnit, Dev! You missed the turn!"

"You said left! I went left!" Dev defended himself.

"MY left!" The car swerved suddenly, slamming Feo's shoulder into the side of the car.

"You're backwa- Fuck!," Dev shouted as a building in front of him exploded out into the already messy street. " 'Nother Tank, bro! Think you can handle it?!"

"In your dreams! I'm almost out! 'Let's nab a cop car! For old time sake' he says!" Feo, the crazy haired young man, growled in frustration. "I knew we should have taken the goddamn Volvo!"

"At the end of the world? It's a bitch car!" Dev shot back.

"Better than a suicide car!" Feo wouldn't let him win this one.

"Admit it," Dev replied, not letting up on the gas as he spun the car around on itself and jerked the wheel to avoid the Tank and plowing into a crowd of average infected, "this is cool. Hey look.. I think that's Tara's sister."

"Tara? Augh, nevermind! Just remember, if you see Leslee, _I _get to run her over!" Dev laughed openly.

"You got it. Alright! We're back on track!" They were zooming towards the gas station with no plan on how the fuck to make it back. Hopefully all the zombies they had attracted would get a taste of the blast and they way back towards Mercy would be relatively empty. They could hope.

-

Characters  
><strong>Feodore Bradford<strong>  
>Age: 20<br>Height: 6'  
>Ref: Shahid Kapoor<p>

**Jerome Devlin Hunter**  
>Age: 20<br>Height: 6'8"  
>Ref: Joe Manganiello<p> 


	13. Chapter XIII  Revenge

Characters belong to us, everything else is copyright to Valve

Chapter XIII – Revenge

Blair slept relatively well for what had happened to her. She woke up early, stepped over Cherry and Derick as they slept and headed out. She was cautious as she made her way towards the apartment. She had to shoot down a couple stray infected but nothing that made her break a sweat. She promptly got to the stairs and headed up. Opening the door she didn't hear any voices or noise and she sighed. Locking the door behind her she walked up to the pair sleeping on the mattress.

She shot her gun into the air, startling both women awake. She collided her hard head against Aubrey's with such force and swiftness that she was surprised Aubrey's head wasn't rolling around on the floor. Aubrey's eyes opened at the gunshot, and promptly closed again as she blacked out. Amika watched with wide eyes as she did so, and her eyes became impossibly larger when Blair tore her shirt off. She climbed on top of the bed and over Aubrey.

"Don't say a word," her voice was low, husky and lustful. She started to passionately kiss the other woman. She maneuvered them so that Amika's body would lay partially on Aubrey. An evil smile almost broke through when Amika moaned at a certain kiss she placed on her neck. If the other woman woke up before they were finished it would be her own fault, but Blair would make damn sure some part of their bodies would be on top of her. She forced her phobia away this one time, and oh did it feel so good.

Amika still had some lingering effects of the drug that was in her system or else she would have been more sympathetic to the abused Aubrey. Her heightened senses caused her to momentarily forget the other girl as Blair continued her treatment. Afterwards, Blair got up from the bed and put her clothes back on. Amika sat up slowly as she watched her, a goofy grin on her face.

"Get up, we're leaving for the helipad today." Blair then picked up her gun and left the apartment. Amika's eyes finally travelled to Aubrey's form and she cursed out loud. How the hell did she forget about her?!

"Aubrey.." She tried to gently shake the unconscious girl. Her voice was filled with concern, acting as if Blair hadn't come by... Yeah, she was still feeling woozy.

Aubrey groaned in pain at being shaken and slowly opened her eyes, her hand absently rubbing her forehead where she'd been hit. "Wha... what happened?" she asked softly as she looked around the room. Then her emerald eyes fell on the stranger before her and she came to the realization that she wasn't wearing any clothes. "Who are you?" she cried in fear, leaping from the bed and pulling the sheet with her which she clutched to her chest, trying to hide her body.

"Why am I naked?" Her sudden movement made her head pound even fiercer and she grabbed the wall to steady herself as the room began to spin. Amika instinctively went to reach for her when she tipped over. Her questions finally registered in Amika's brain and she tilted her head.

"Wait.. What?" Answering her with another question didn't get them very far. She blinked a few times before blowing her bangs up.

"Okay, uhm, I'm Amika. You're Aubrey. We're naked because we had sex all night after taking a lot of drugs... oh, and there are zombies." The truth sounded extremely far fetched as it came out of her mouth, causing her to almost doubt her own self. She looked around and spotted their clothes littered around the floor. She got up and gathered Aubrey's clothes so she could get more comfortable with the situation. However, she kept glancing at her as she grabbed the rest of her clothes with suspicion written in her face. Blair's headbutts didn't usually make people forget...

Aubrey stared, wide eyed and eyebrows raised at Amika as she mulled over the information. Clearly, she was dealing with a psychopath who must have drugged her and was attempting to keep her here under the guise of a zombie attack? What the hell.

As Amika collected the clothing, Aubrey took the opportunity to run and get help. Sprinting from the room, she ripped open the door and looked for the exit. She spotted the open door, and someone outside! "You've got to help me. I've been drugged by a crazy person! Call 911!" she rushed to the unknown male outside the door, only he didn't seem to be responsive.

"Fuckin' Aubrey.." Amika rolled her eyes when the girl fled the room. She put on her underwear before chasing after her. Gazing at his bruise colored skin and bloody face, Aubrey began to question whether this was a nightmare or reality.

She screamed, as loudly as possible, as the creature noticed her presence and lunged for her. Hearing the scream Amika broke out into a mad dash. Using her built up momentum she used her shoulder and knocked the zombie back. She grabbed Aubrey by her arm and pulled her back into the store. The zombie had stumbled back but he let out a loud howl, alerting other infected. 

"Damn it, damn it!" Amika, for the first time, wanted to really back hand the girl in front of her. She suddenly remembered her gun was upstairs. She made sure the door to the store was secure before running towards it. It would be really soon that the infected would be inside, the zombie threw himself at the door and the glass cracked.

Aubrey shook in fear, not sure of what just happened. Could that have really been a zombie, like Amika said? If so, the girl had just saved her life. But how could zombies be real? She felt like she was in a bad horror movie. A wave of nausea overcame her and she violently threw up on the floor. She grabbed a roll of paper towels from the shelf nearby and wiped her mouth. _And dammit, why couldn't she remember anything?_

Letting Amika finish up with the supposed zombie, she shakily walked back up the stairs into the apartment figuring she should at least put some clothes on as she tried to piece the events back together. After she was dressed, she went to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water, guzzling it down. She hadn't realized how thirsty she was until she saw it. She peered out the kitchen window, the streets oddly desolate. There was an overturned car on the corner and two more that looked as if they had been abandoned, their doors wide open and void of passengers. Movement caught her eyes and she grew hopeful, only to see it was another zombie-like being, armless and blood-covered as it staggered aimlessly down the stark street. Shivering as reality sank in, her eyes fell to the counter where she spotted a phone. She rushed to snatch it up and dialed 911- but her heart sank as all she heard back was a busy tone. Aubrey tried again and again, only to get the same response. She picked it up once more to try... who? She couldn't remember anyone in her life, let alone a phone number. Tears welled up in her eyes. What was she to do? She had no one to call for help and nowhere to go. And who knew what else she'd find if she went outside? She sank to the floor, hugging her knees to her chest and began to cry.

Amika had her gun in hand but was pacing the room wildly. She couldn't find her shirt! Aubrey had also lost her memory and there was a horde on its way. She let out a frustrated grunt and she kicked the bed, it was then that she heard Aubrey crying. She used a nearby stool to prop against the door. She knelt down beside Aubrey and gently placed a hand on her back.

"I'm sorry that this happened to you but you are Aubrey. We met when this disaster started about three weeks ago. I've saved your life countless times and you mine.. a few times. I actually really like you and want to survive through this with you but you're going to have to help me escape. More of those things are coming. We have a safe house with other people in it waiting for us. I'll protect you as much as I can." Her voice was calm and genuine. She had to resist the urge to kiss her not sure how it would be taken. Instead she placed her hand on her cheek with a soft smile. The sound at the door caused Amika to flick her eyes in that direction. She brought out her gun and prepared it for battle.

Aubrey wiped her eyes and contemplated what Amika was saying. The girl did seem quite sincere, although she was still uncomfortable with the way she was touching her. What she said may be true, but she didn't remember any of it. She hesitated, wondering how much she should trust Amika. But at this moment, with zombies about to burst through the door any second, what choice did she have? Taking a deep breath, she nodded to Amika to show her compliance and stood up, grabbing a butcher knife from the counter. "Alright, let's get to that safe house."

Blocks away an enormous explosion rattled the air. The sound of the siren had wound down to a last warped warble as the speakers of the former cop car melted in the intense heat along with two Tanks and an ass-load of other zombies. The stench was remarkable. The two men were panting anyway, gasping for air which had been driven out of them when they jumped out of the back of the car at the last minute. Hacking and coughing the rolled off the dented trunk of yet another abandoned vehicle which had served as their landing pad.

They hit the ground to avoid the smoke and both lie on the cool asphalt. The relief was momentary. Feo groaned as Dev silently pushed himself off the flat surface and cracked some of his bones back into their proper place.

"I.. always wanted to do.. to do that..," Dev wheezed, feeling satisfied despite being in pain. Feo rolled onto his back and likewise felt his vertebrae shift into line.

"Ughh... Yup.. Now let's get the fuck back to Mercy, huh? You know, I liked that hospital.. I was gonna make sure my babies were born there.."

"Heh," Dev snorted with amusement. "Liar." He tapped his friend on the shoulder and rose, looking around for less troublesome transportation. His eyes found what he was looking for...

And that was how they wound up on a bike with Dev pedaling for all he was worth while Feo sat on the handlebars facing Dev. Dev's head was sticking out under his arm and he had his forearms resting on the bigger man's shoulder and back, each equipped with a semi-automatic handgun.

...Several blocks later...

Feo squeezed the trigger after carefully aiming and managed to kill a Smoker at a distance with a clean pair of head shots.

"You ring that bell one more damn time..," he growled threateningly.

"I _told you_... It was an accident!" Dev was snickering which made the claim unconvincing. "Cheer up, we're getting close!"

Blair sighed as the red steel door closed in front of her. There wasn't much debate on waiting time so her team went ahead. She turned back around to Farrah with worry in her dark grey eyes.

"They're not back yet?.. Should we go check on them? I don't want the three of us to miss the chopper." She asked her short friend, while chewing on her bottom lip. Her main focus and worry spent on Amika. Farrah was a little irritated that Blair hadn't just waited to come back with Amika in the first place but wasn't about to say anything. The girl had been through enough.

"You stay here, pack up supplies, I'll see what's taking them so long" she said. She didn't want anymore love triangle drama to hold them up which was likely to happen if Blair tagged along. Grabbing her pistols off the counter, and a couple of the pipe bombs Aimi had left her, she quickly headed off to investigate. Farrah made it back to the apartment with relative sped, although it struck as odd that there weren't more infected around. Even weirder, Sebastien's body, which had been lying on the pavement the night beforehand when Blair left, was now gone. Shrugging it off as having had stranger things happen, she headed up the stairs. As she tried the handle, the door refused to open.

"What the..." Farrah tried the door again but it still wouldn't open. "Amika?" she called, trying not to be too loud.

"Farrah?" She rushed to the door and kicked the stool out of the way. After the door was open a dazzling smile lit up her face. She tucked her gun away, turning to smile at Aubrey her face dimmed down. She wouldn't be too happy to see someone she didn't know.

"There's a problem. Blair head butted Aubrey earlier and now she doesn't remember anything. Me, the zombies, or... anything." Amika shook her head as she faced Farrah again. As she did, she noticed her purple tank top dangling from the ceiling fan in the spare room that, supposedly, no one had been in. She turned her eyes to Aubrey, who probably wouldn't have remembered anyway, and a glimpse of the night entered her mind. Her body shivered from the memory but she went and retrieved it.

Farrah was relieved to see that Amika was okay, less concerned about Aubrey. "How is that possible? I guess she could have a concussion..." Blair did have an extremely hard head. "Whatever the case, we need to get going before we miss the helicopter. Grab Amnesia Barbie and let's go."

Aubrey wasn't sure what to make of this new girl's appearance, and her tone certainly seemed unfriendly. But it seemed she was there to help them, so she didn't let it bother her too much. She gripped the steak knife tightly in her palm and waited for the others to lead the way.

"Let's get out of here." Amika lead them downstairs and towards the hospital. She found it extremely odd that the streets were barren of zombies. It was eerily quiet when she was certain that Aubrey's scream had lured a horde.


	14. Chapter XIV  Apples

Characters belong to us, everything else is copyright to Valve

Chapter XIV – Apples

"Who's all at the safe house?" Amika asked as they crossed the street.

"Hey... I think I see.." Dev started off while squinting his eyes.

"If it's another goddamn Tank you're taking care of it yourself. I'm watching." Feo huffed from his perch on the bike.

"No.. No I think it's people.." Dev brought a hand up to his forehead.

"What? Like.. living people?" Feo looked at him in disbelief.

"Hang on," Dev replied, uncertain and afraid to get his hopes up. He inhaled deeply and put his full focus on pedaling as hard as he possible could, jettisoning them up another block and straight towards what looked like a small group of females, armed and walking carefully. Hearing a bike, Amika turned her head and completely forgot her question. She pulled her gun up in an offensive stance and she turned her whole body. Wait, zombies didn't ride bikes...

"Oh. My. God." Amika squinted her eyes but she could already make out Dev's massive form, "Dev!?"

" 'Mika!," Dev cried back, straining to keep his enthusiasm under control as he called to her affectionately. Feo turned to look, curious and hopeful only to find Amika.

"Dev! Dev!," Feo hissed desperately, pushing at his friend's shoulder. "For god's sake, let me off the bike before she sees!" He was certain his girlfriend was with her sister.

Amika rushed up to both of them, her face entirely lit up. If there was Dev then there was Feo. If there was Feo then there had to be Miela! Her heart felt like it was about to jump out of her chest, if only to reach them before her. She walked up to them as they stopped.

She looked utterly confused at only finding the two men, not even taking note of their position. Feo was frowning and trying to look beyond her. Where was...? Amika walked around them in a circle like a vulture, her eyes dancing wildly from side to side as they searched for her sister... but as moments went by her face slowly started to bunch up. Tears filled her eyes and she fell onto her knees. She brought her hands up to her eyes and pushed her palms against them, as if to push the tears back in.

"Miela.." She choked out through her sobbing.

"Wh- where is she, Amika? Is she at your camp? Was she worried about me?," Feo asked eagerly.

"I fuckin' thought she was with you!" She cried out to him, irritated at herself for believing in the hope that her sister was still alive. Now that Miela wasn't alive... was there a point for fighting for her life? Feo's face fell and his heart dumped into his guts. He looked down blankly. The truth sunk in quickly. So many people had died or disappeared in the last.. days? Had it been weeks already? There wasn't much room for ambiguity as to Miela's fate.

"Then what... Why did I.. These last few weeks.. If she's not here, why did I fight?" Feo struggled with his words. Dev looked at his friend sadly then back to Amika, certain she was hurting the same way. He started to get off the bike, shifting Feo as he did so but by looking at the slightly shorter man he could tell he didn't realize his own body was dismounting.

"Shut up." Amika spat at him before standing up. She didn't bother wiping her eyes as she hadn't stopped crying but she headed to the safe room, intent on not saying anything until she got there. Dev tugged Feo along, following after her closely, trusting she was going to wherever she felt safest at this point and equally sure that if he let go of Feo, he'd fall behind.

It seemed they were hopping from one dramatic event to another of a much more painful kind. Farrah, too, had her hopes up that Miela would be with the two men, but it was clear fate was a bitch. Knowing there were no words for this kind of pain, Farrah aimed to follow Amika and protect her from any infected, or the more likely case, from herself.

Aubrey wasn't sure who Miela or these men were, but it was clear Amika was suffering a terrible loss. Although she was without a functioning memory, her heart was up and running. For some reason, Amika's pain was too poignant to ignore and it struck her as well. Her eyes stung briefly and through her blurry vision, she followed Amika and Farrah back to the safe room. Blair unlocked the door and let Amika in. She heard a sniffle and turned Amika around. Her heart sank at the look upon Amika's pretty face and grabbed it in between her hands.

"What's wrong?" She half hoped that Aubrey had died but the situation didn't call for jokes.

"Miela.. she didn't..she's not.." Amika couldn't even get it out but Blair could figure out what she was trying to say. Her own eyes welled up and she pressed her forehead against Amika's as she wrapped her arms around her. There really were no words for such a tragedy of realizing the loss for one's sibling and she just held her while she cried. Farrah followed Amika into the safe room, thankful to see Blair comforting her friend. If anyone could help Amika, it was Blair. Farrah's heart filled with dread as she suddenly remembered who was with them. Then Aubrey walked in.

Dev frowned, hearing a familiar voice he didn't expect as he opened the door. He loomed into the room over Amika, Feo still in his grip but slightly behind him. He shuffled in behind the girls excited to see Blair but not wanting to interrupt her comforting Amika who definitely needed the attention. He shook Feo lightly, concerned but knowing Blair would make him feel better as well.

"C'mon, buddy, I can't lose you now. I .. I know it's hard. I have no idea what you're going through but I'm here and look! Blair!," he said quietly and quickly.

"Wh-What? Yea.. sorry, man.. I should have known it was coming. I was just.. so sure she was with Amika. I wanted her to be okay so damn bad.." He shut his eyes tightly, his face closed in pain and shoved a fist to his forehead, not about to cry with so many people he didn't know in the room. He had to get a grip! But he felt so destroyed..

Feo looked around and only when he saw Blair did he realize what Dev had said. She was alive?! "Blair!," he blurted out surprised and relieved. Dev turned to face the former photographer as well.

"Yes?" She opened her eyes and tried to look for the source that called her name.

"Oh yeah... Look what I found.." Amika rolled her eyes playfully but pecked Blair on the lips as she took a step back. Grateful for her comfort and deep understanding of her loss, she nodded her head towards the goofy duo. Blair smiled up at Amika and jumped up and down, shaking her fists close to her chest in dance fashion. She squealed as she dashed for her close friends.

Dev went straight for Blair. Feo managed to smile at their enthusiasm but looked towards Amika. She was the closest thing to Miela left and he wanted to make amends with her if possible. Amika did make eye contact with him and her lips spread into a small smile while she wiped her eyes.

"Blair! You're alright!" Dev caught Blair in his arms and spun with her, laughing. Blair stiffened at the contact but fought the urge to struggle against him. First Farrah and now Dev, she was just glad that she was already comfortable touching Feodore and Amika. Her arms eventually found their way around him.

Feo went to Amika. As much as he wanted to control himself, he couldn't. He reached for her to pull her into a hug and would probably bawl on her shoulder like he was born yesterday. Amika kept it down to a sob but she put her arms around him. Miela meant the world to them both, so they would suffer the most without her. Normally she would've punched Feo for hugging her but given the situation she held onto him just as tightly.

Dev set her down quickly with something of a yelp, "Ah! Oh! S-sorry! End of the world and all.. Glad to see someone I know.." He held his hands in the air with a nervous look, the retraction a reaction of second-nature to him since he was naturally a hugger and Blair had never wanted him to touch her.

Feo tried to get himself together as quickly as possible but as soon as Amika started to cry he struggled even more to reach composure. He apologized to Amika but couldn't get out the words to specify that he was sorry about her sister, about not knowing where she was or having protected her. He didn't have to, knowing full well she felt the exact same way. He waited until he could at least breathe properly and then gave Amika one final tight hug before releasing her and using the inside of his shirt to scrub the tears from his face. He sniffled and looked around the room, then back at Amika.

"Middle of a zombie Apocalypse and you're surrounded by babes." He shook his head with a grin, "Should've known."

"I didn't sell my soul to the devil for nothin'." For the first time since the outbreak, her famous grin broke out on her face. She also kept the drama that occurred between Aubrey and Blair.. Not wanting to hear Feo's nagging about hurting Blair. He chuckled, seeing in her the Amika he knew well from the halcyon days long since passed and feeling relieved because of it. Farrah's heart grew with the love she felt in this small room. She was grinning from ear to ear, hardly able to believe so many of her friends could still be alive in this zombie infested metropolis.

"Oh, it's okay. It's already happened so you're not the first." Blair giggled at Dev and put him at ease. She turned her body and gestured toward Farrah. "This is my friend Farrah! She's Amika's close friend, but we enjoy each others company." To prove her point she reached out and grabbed Farrah's sleeve to pull the short girl in front of her. Dev laughed in surprised and looked down at Farrah with wide eyes.

'_Oh my god she's so cute!_'

"Hi," he said leaning down unintentionally towards Farrah. He extended a massive hand. His brilliant green eyes glowed as he looked into her face.

"Dev," he introduced himself simply and avoided saying "nice to meet you" given the overall circumstances.

Farrah gave him her hand, eyes widening as his seemed to swallow hers up but she made up for it with vigorous shaking, "Farrah," she smiled cheerfully, "I was hoping to meet you eventually! I've heard so much about you."

He nearly suffocated himself stifling a giggle because he could feel her hand moving within his without being able to see it. He couldn't restrain himself any longer. He gave a little squeal and scooped Farrah off the ground and into a hug.

"Can I keep you forever? I promise to feed you and protect you from zombies and I'll even braid your hair! Pleeaaaasee?," he begged.

Normally, a comment like that would bother Farrah but coming from Dev it seemed harmless and even sweet. Farrah found herself laughing, "Keep me? No. But braid away!"

He seemed no less pleased and gave her an enormous toothy grin so big it closed his eyes. Dev hugged her for a little while longer and then set her down. Farrah relaxed in his hold, feeling her stress melt away. Looking around the room, she felt like she was at home with this eccentric family. She gazed happily around, until her eyes came across Aubrey. Her smile dampened as she took in the misplaced memory patient.

Staring around the room full of reunited happy people, Aubrey felt horribly out of place. She couldn't remember any of them and no one seemed at all interested in her presence. She had never felt more miserable and alone.

"So, Cherry's a cute name.." Cerina mocked with a coy smile. Derick lay at her feet, his coughing from her kick to his stomach was somewhat muffled as her foot pressed against his throat. She had played the role perfectly. Survivor trying to get out but played a useful part of the team. Roman and Aimi went ahead to call the helicopter, as they did she hit Cherry in the back of the head with the butt of her gun. Derick turned and cried out her name as she shot him in the knee.

"Cherries are red. Do you know what else is red?" Stepping on Derick's throat she went forward to the pink haired girl as she was bound and gag. Twirling the knife in her hand she smiled wickedly before driving it into her thigh. "Apples."

Cherries eyes widened in horror as the knife came hurtling down. The all she could feel was pain. It knocked the breath from her lungs and made it impossible to focus on anything else. _You've survived worse, you will get through this... Please let someone find us! _Cherry tried to think of way out, but her limbs were bound so tightly she could no longer feel them and with her mouth gagged, she couldn't even create a verbal distraction. What a bitch for asking a question and not even letting her answer! And ohhh the pain...

"Do you think you'll be rescued?" Cerina continued to ask questions that she knew couldn't be answered. She ripped the blade from her leg and thought the woman looked slightly uneven. She nodded to herself, as if remembering a trivial thing and stabbed her other thigh. She heard Derick stir behind her and as she turned she twisted the knife deeper into Cherry's leg.

"Awake now? Such a strong handsome man.. but you're fucking worthless." Leaving the knife where it was, she backhanded him. He fell back and she grabbed a nearby needle, she smiled at him winningly before striking forward and digging it into his bullet wound. He cried out in pain, trying to lift his arms but they were tied down to hospital equipment.

"I don't know if it's sad or funny that you probably feel a tiny bit of hope. No one is going to find you.. and by the time they do you'll already be dead." She laughed and slowly made her way back to Cherry, the syringe filled with blood.

"You should be grateful I'm not a slobbering zombie." She leaned forward, positioning the needle in front of Cherry's eye. The expression on her face was terrifying, made all the more stimulating because of her overall beauty.

_What is wrong with this bitch? _Cherry wondered, wishing she could ask the question out loud. Despite the beauty of her candy coating, all Cherry could see was the ugliness of Cerina's insanity. _Your mother must not have loved you... or maybe you were dropped on the head as a child... Noo, it must have been something worse for her to be this fucked up... demonic possession? _She couldn't help herself, she chuckled through the gag. This situation was way too intense. And if she was going to die, at least she would go out with a sense of humor.

The chuckle made Cerina's blood boil and she gripped the syringe tightly. Her eyes narrowed and the corners of her mouth twitched. She pulled her arm back and then she stuck Cherry in the cheek with the needle. She smiled menacingly as her thumb pushed down and poured Derick's blood into Cherry's mouth.

Cherry's laughter immediately dissipated. She gagged with disgust at what was being forced into her mouth. _This bitch is really twisted_, she thought to herself. _What could she possibly be getting from this?_ It was all some kind of sick game, but she was no longer going to participate. If she was gong to torture her and kill her, well Cherry couldn't really stop her. But she sure wasn't going to be conscious for it. She held her breath, face slowly turning blue, until she passed out.


	15. Chapter XV Misplaced

Characters belong to us, everything else is copyright to Valve

Chapter XV – Misplaced

With Dev and Farrah busy Blair then turned her attention to Feodore and Amika. She ran and launched herself at him. The dread of Miela, him living, her living, finding each other were all put into the tight hug she gave him. She nuzzled her face into his chest as happy tears pricked her eyes, "I can't believe you're here!"

Feo got choked up all over again as he hugged her warmly, eyes likewise decorated with liquid diamonds. "Blair.." The tone of his voice said it all. He was amazed and happy to see her again, alive and well after all this time and horror.

"I ran into her yesterday.." Amika suddenly felt guilt as she mentioned it and flinched at the glare Blair gave her, under Feo's radar. "Your headbutt made Aubrey lose her memory.."

"So, it didn't kill her?" Blair let go of Feodore and placed her hands on her hips. At least this way the short, bitchy, worthless skank would leave Amika and herself alone. Amika's and Blair's comments were not lost on Aubrey as she contemplated why someone would want to hurt her. And if Amika said they'd had sex, why was she all over Blair? Something was definitely wrong with this picture, she just wished she could remember what...

Feo, surprised to hear the comment from Blair looked between the women in question but sensed real hostility and didn't speak up. Dev quickly directed his attention to Farrah. "Look, look! This is Farrah!"

"Oh, yeah! Amika's best friend and mine now!" Blair's attitude flipped quickly, apparently Aubrey the only one to bring it out and she exclaimed as she pointed. Feo chuckled and smiled softly, glad Blair had found a way to make friends despite all the goings on.

"Hey! I'm Feo! Blair's bestie and yours too, now, I guess!" He gave her a bright smile, grateful for the distraction. He waved but then offered a hand as well. The height difference between Farrah and Dev would have made him smile under any conditions.

"Any bestie of Blair's is a bestie of mine!" Farrah replied cheerfully, leaning to shake his hand but then going for a hug. There was too much love in this room to be spent on handshakes. Her reaction to his greeting warranted another chuckle and Feo hugged her in return. He looked up at Dev as he did so making an excited face and mouthing 'Oh my god, she's tiny!' to which Dev responded with a huge smile and big vigorous nods. Dev's cheeks hurt from smiling at Farrah so much and they hadn't even been paying attention to each other for more than 5 minutes.

"Yay!" Blair smiled broadly and latched onto Amika's arm. All of her friends were surrounding her in this time of despair and it made her so happy. She looked over at Aubrey, making sure she was watching before turning Amika's head and pulling her into a deep kiss.

Aubrey felt like bawling. So much love but yet no one to love her. Eyes welling with tears, she looked over in time to catch the kiss between Blair and Amika and the look Blair gave just before it. It was as if Blair was trying to rub it in her face. Why would she do that? Unless... suddenly it all came rushing back. The weeks after the infection, the time spent with Amika, the feelings that had developed, then the entry of Blair, the jealousy and hate, the shower, the drugs, the night, the headbutt... Every little detail came rushing back as if the floodgates had opened in her mind. She collapsed to her knees, head pounding fiercely as she battled the emotions rising within. So much betrayal, so much anger... She would make them pay or die trying.

"Whoa," Feo noted in warning as Aubrey fell, furthest from her and unable to help but confused and concerned enough to point it out. He had realized before Dev that they hadn't been introduced to one girl yet and wondered why. She and Blair seemed to have some feud so he kept to himself but otherwise would have made the effort of at least learning her name out of pity, if nothing else.

After pulling away from Blair, Amika heard her drop and she let go of Blair to help her. She had been so caught up with finding Feo and Dev and not Miela, that Aubrey's memory loss was ironically forgotten. She slid to a halt by her and leaned over to pick her up.

Aubrey had to fight the urge to punch Amika in the face as she grabbed her arm to help her up. But she had to control herself if her plan was going to work. And after all, it was much easier to play a concussion victim than to face reality and the emotions she was truly feeling. But dammit, she had really begun to fall for Amika and for a moment she had thought the girl cared for her as well. Clearly, she would never find real love in her life. And at the end of the day, she really couldn't blame Amika. How were you supposed to love someone who didn't know how to love you back?

The tallest person in the room was busy crouching down to tie his boot tighter when he realized that on one knee he was about the same height as Farrah. He nearly exploded from containing himself, certain that just as he got sick of people making inane comments about his size, Farrah likewise received stupid comments about her petite build. Nevertheless, he remained on one knee with one fist planted on the ground and curled up tightly, defusing the energy he otherwise would have spent launching himself at Farrah again and snatching her tiny body into a massive hug. Farrah caught Dev's expression as he knelt next to her and could tell what he was thinking. She was thinking it herself. He was only kneeling and he was still taller than she was! She couldn't help it and she burst out in a fit of giggles.

"Are you okay?" Amika asked, trying to look Aubrey in her emerald eyes. She really did look concerned, but it was hard for her. She never had been caught between two people like this. Usually it was only physical or for the thrill of it but this time she cared for both women. She just felt that Blair was owed a little more because she had a longer relationship with her but with Aubrey.. their short amount of time felt like it outweighed her time with Blair. It was difficult when it came to feelings; for her, it was like trying to run through a brick wall to get to them.

Feo watched her heroism with raised eyebrows. Just because he was having a good time - the best time in weeks - didn't mean he wasn't as aware of the emotions in the room as he always seemed to be. He was in tune to the feelings of others and always had been even if he didn't always understand how or the actual emotions. He had rarely seen Amika like this with anyone and imagined that her last few weeks must have been even more difficult than his - he had had Dev the whole time. Fuck, the first few days had been confusing and bizarre but felt like a game at the same time. He and Dev had even been competing for kills right up until that very day and could recite each others records of special infected killed.

Aubrey gazed into Amika's, reading the concern there, wishing that there was a way things could have worked out between them. As her eyes flicked to Blair, she knew it would never happen. "Uhm, yea," she rubbed her temple with her fingertips and closed her eyes, fighting another wave of tears as she realized just how alone she was, "It's just my head... well that's not the real reason," she opened her eyes, looking at Amika, wishing she could just express her true feelings, but knowing too much had happened for them to be reciprocated, "Seeing all of you guys just reminds me that I have no one. Maybe once I had you, but even that I don't remember," she closed her eyes, willing herself not to cry but even still, tears streamed down her cheeks.

Dev was a little nervous at first and then a little embarrassed she could read him that easily but her giggles caught on in a flash and he erupted into laughter himself. It caught Feo's attention and just the sight of them that way made him laugh too but he covered his mouth with his hand to lower the volume. Farrah hadn't laughed this hard in weeks and with Feo and Dev joining in, it seemed contagious. Soon she was sprouting tears from laughing so hard. The harder she laughed, the harder they laughed until Feo was leaning on Dev and both of them were in tears as well. Dev reached out for Farrah to draw her closer.

Amika's heart strings were tugging along in Aubrey's fingers. She couldn't hold it back and her arms found themselves around her. She pulled her close to her body and held her, resting her cheek atop her head.

"Hopefully you'll get your memory back soon but for now we can make new memories with each other." Amika whispered to her quietly, so only Aubrey could hear.

"Oh, please." Blair muttered with a roll of her eyes at the moment between the other two women, but joined in on the laughter of the other people in the room with her. It was contagious and it was a nice distraction.

Aubrey was comforted by Amika's embrace and allowed herself to sink into it more than she wanted to admit. But she had no one else and dammit if she still didn't have feelings for her. She didn't dare make eye contact with Blair, there were just too many emotions boiling within her without worrying about Blair on top of it. If she hated her fine but she was going to roll with the amnesia case until she truly figured out her feelings. At least with that story, she didn't have to be a bitch to mask them. She just couldn't remember what they were.

Farrah fell in with the pair until slowly their laughter subsided. "It's a shame it took an apocalypse for us to meet each other."

"I've wanted you guys to meet for so long!" Blair clapped her hands together. Feo wiped his eyes again and righted his posture, slapping Dev on the back. Dev persisted to kneel and looked over at Farrah with a broad and cheeky grin.

"Better late than never!"

Amika picked her head up and glanced at Blair. Seeing her girlfriend turned away, she turned back and gently kissed Aubrey's forehead. She also brushed her tears away with her forefinger.

"Please, stop crying." She smiled at her softly, "We have to go catch a helicopter and get to safety together."

Aubrey choked back a laugh at Amika's level-headedness. Safety would be the first thing on her mind. Which just brought up memories of all the times she had kept her safe in the last three weeks. Wiping the rest of her tears with her sleeve, she slowly pulled away, needing some distance. After a few deep breaths, she had managed to gain back most of her emotional control.

Feo looked away from the tender moment, sensing a tension in both females and that they were both struggling internally. With Amika, it wasn't a surprise and it had always been a matter of time before Blair got her heart trashed by the more reckless woman; at least it had seemed that way to him given the reasons they had first gotten together, namely Miela trying to provide a distraction. Why did it have to be now? Because it was the worst possible moment and that was Amika for you.

'_Good to know some things never change, at least._' He reached out to nudge Blair's arm because he was one of the few people she didn't mind having touch her.

"It's really weird seeing you without your camera, you know. We should steal you a new one." He grinned.

"Even if it's disposable!" She giggled, knowing that he would get the joke. She held an extreme distaste for the devices. Whenever she used one her pictures never came out. He chortled and reached for her to pull her against his chest in another hug, this one slower and less fierce. He was so glad to see her alive. Feo rested his chin on her head where he'd often placed it before the world had turned crazy.

"I guess it would be a pain to keep a normal one charged anyway.. I'm sure there are nice camera's that take AA's.. I dunno what you'd take pictures of though.. Guess I never did," he laughed at himself. She could probably still see potential photos in everything and to document a zombie apocalypse from the inside out? Maybe it would fetch a fine price some day! Feo fully intended to grab her a camera the next time he had the opportunity. Probably a whole bunch of them so she could take her pick! And it was smart to stock up on battery's anyway.

Meanwhile, Dev was curious about Farrah.

"So how'd you meet Amika and what'd you do before all Hell broke loose?" He didn't even realize he was still almost sitting which was actually a nice break.

"Twins, separated at birth," Farrah replied, "Nah, I broke her nose in kindergarten and ever since we've been best of friends."

He laughed pretty heartily at that, "Go figure! If that's how it happened, I can't be surprised you guys are best friends for life, it being Amika and all."

Once Aubrey had calmed down, Amika turned to the group.

"Well, I think it's time we high-tailed out of here. Hopefully the chopper hasn't left without us. Feo, Dev, there are more guns and ammo over there. Some food and medical supplies over there. We'll all suit up and head out!" Amika came into the middle of the room, being the natural born leader she was. A confident smile on her full lips and her hands on her hips.


	16. Chapter XVI Fight Just Begun

Characters belong to us, everything else is copyright to Valve

Chapter XVI – Fight Just Begun

The boys focused smartly when Amika appointed herself leader. Blair watched Amika and her own confidence boosted. Amika made a good leader and she didn't look bad doing it either. Feo headed for the guns first and grabbed enough for himself and Dev, making sure he collected as much ammo for the weapons he found as possible. Neither of them were very well armed any more. Their last camp having been overrun finally after days of successfully holding off zombies.

Knowing neither of them had eaten very much or very well in the last day and a half, Dev went for the food. He took what he could for himself and rooted around to see if there was anything his friend liked readily available. They converged in the middle of the room and swapped goods. Feo cleaned up some of Dev's wounds while his bigger friend ate. When Dev was done - which was in almost no time at all - he returned the favor. They seemed to know most of each other's injuries better than they knew their own.

A few bandages had to be removed and replaced. Feo started to stand first but Dev grabbed his head easily in one hand and pulled him back towards himself to place a fraternal kiss on his head before tousling his hair and shoving him away. Dev then stood himself and looked around the room.

"Any good melee weapons around? You know I'm shit at aiming..," he asked no one in particular.

"Oddly enough, there's a bunch of knives in that cupboard, maybe even a machete," Farrah piped up. She and Cherry had a contest earlier to see who could rummage up the most weapons while they waited for everyone to return from showering. Cherry had won but only because she thought everything could be a weapon.

"My favorite," Dev said grateful for her input and happy to hear it. He went to stock up on pointy things and did indeed find a machete which he kept in his hand at the ready as they prepared to move out. Feo had a few guns in his waistband, his and Dev's pockets full of clips and a nice compact machine gun slung over his shoulder that he hadn't lost track of for days. There was an old, faithful Browning in his back pocket.

Aubrey had listened to Amika's short speech with a growing unease over the endeavor ahead. With Blair around, Amika was less likely to spend as much time protecting her and she knew damn well the others weren't going to be looking out for her either. She gathered all the supplies she thought she might need into her back and stood silently by the door, waiting for the others to finish getting ready.

"Blair, load up the weapons and check them so they don't jam." Amika suggested to the photographer. Blair nodded, she had been around enough guns with Farrah and Amika that she would finished this tedious task with ease. Her memory was so useful that it made her heart swell. Amika then partially turned her body to face Aubrey, "Aubrey, you can help me pick out medical supplies."

"Uhm, okay," Aubrey replied, setting down her pack to help Amika. Once Aubrey was closer to Amika she smiled at her. Her eyes moved away and quickly found Feo. Unconsciously, Feo went to back Blair, always in auto-defense mode nowadays. Dev showed a similar reaction to Farrah to whom he seemed to have quickly attached himself. Both of them knew that everyone needed defending at some point but both had grown to understand and respect Amika's capacities as a fighter. The way Dev saw it, they were all looking out for each other but it helped to be in "pairs," the buddy-system had never failed him!

"Feo, I would like you to meet Aubrey. She's lost her memory at the moment, but she's been with me since the beginning of the outbreak." She seemed happy in introducing Aubrey to Feodore. As if he were meeting someone very important to her.

"Aubrey, this is my brother in law." She figured once Dev heard he would try to detach himself from Farrah to get introduced as well. She would be equally happy to bring up Aubrey's name to him. Feo glanced uncertainly towards Blair but an introduction seemed harmless enough. His heart pounded and his face softened as Amika introduced him as her brother-in-law. They'd practically been family for a long time now but it was still touching for her to refer to him as such. It was probably the first time she'd ever done so..

"Nice to meet you, Aubrey," he said, willing to hug her but preferring a handshake due to the contest between her and Blair. Dev appeared over his shoulder a second later.

"Pleased to meet you," Aubrey smiled hesitantly as she took his hand. She had seen how close they were with Blair and was unsure how she would be accepted.

"This is my brother-from-another-mother, Dev Hunter." Dev looked at Feo slyly and gave him a smacking kiss on the cheek to which he responded with enthusiastic disgust. He scowled at his friend but it only encouraged him to laugh. Dev went straight for a hug. He was just a hugger especially if the other end was female, of course and was less clued in about the situation between her and Blair. Aubrey squealed in surprise when Dev placed his arms around her.. She hadn't expected any of the newcomers to greet her so warmly. It was a pleasant surprise and caused her to grin ear to ear. Her squeal surprised him and he had to double check that she wasn't also phobic about him hugging her for any reason before he continued. Her grin was evidence enough.

"Welcome to the end of the world," he commented jokingly. "Zombies and hot chicks galore! Who knew?"

"Hey, if I'm here that's how it should be!" Amika said between her exceptionally hard laughter at the kiss Dev gave Feo. Aubrey's arm still tingled from Dev's hug and as she looked around at the room of smiling, teasing individuals, she began to get a glimpse of what it might feel like to be part of a family. Feo shook his head at their laughter but couldn't help smiling. It was good to be around Amika again, to hear her laugh. Somehow it was relaxing. He had spent a lot of time around her even if she had been pretending to hate him most of the time. Dev laughed more at her comment and reached out to Amika for a high five as though together they'd accomplished something. Amika enthusiastically high-fived him back.

Soon everyone would be ready and Amika would be opening the safe room, making sure Aubrey was behind her. Not before she gave Blair a sympathetic look, who in turn rolled her eyes but settled herself behind Feo. She looked up at him with a smile and cocked her gun, trying to give him a badass look before heading off. Feo held up his machine gun and reciprocated the bad-ass-ery after smiling at Blair. Aubrey, pack over shoulder followed in line behind Amika, not wanting to get separated from the person who seemed to care about her the most.

"Damn this would make for a good photo shoot." Outside the room Feo's attitude changed. It was subtle because he was still willing to horse around if the opportunity presented itself - as he and Dev had found it often did but keeping Blair safe became his foremost goal. Second was his "team" competing with Dev and Amika's "teams" in kill rate and general awesomeness.

Farrah felt the adrenaline in her blood quicker as they left the safety of the room. Hopefully Rome and Aimi had made it to safety, and perhaps they had taken out the majority of the infected so their battle wouldn't be as bad. They had a decent sized crew all together, so as long as everyone did their share, it shouldn't be too difficult of a battle.

Elsewhere, Rome was on the roof with Aimi. He let her handle the radio while he continued to kick ass as necessary to keep zombitches off the roof and out of his way. He didn't care who else had come along, where the others were or why. All he cared about was that he had lots of ammo, pipe bombs and his bag of supplies. Plus his shirt was still mostly clean. The only thing he knew was that Aimi wanted to get out. He took things one day at a time and goals were necessary as his focus was exemplary but his planning was.. Well, it wasn't a skill he possessed.

"Wonder what happened to Cherry and Derick?" Aimi called to Rome as he pummeled yet another angry infected. Aimi was impressed with Rome's zombie killing techniques. They were a pretty good team. She was able to hold of the bigger hordes with her pipe bombs and Molotov's while he cut down any of the ones that got too close, that was, until the thunderous roar of a Tank sounded.

"Crap," she muttered and reached down to pull out her last Molotov. If she could light it on fire, they'd only have to outrun it until the Tank succumbed to its fiery death. She located the Tank, cocked back her arm, and threw it.

"Get to the radio!," he shouted at her over the sound of his own gunfire, determined to finish off as many zombies as possible before the copter landed. He hoped they were armed too..

"On it!" Aimi cried back, and headed for the ladder at the side of the building. The radio was inside the room below the roof. She hopped the last 3 rungs, not liking her back being towards the infected. She kicked herself for having not thrown another pipe bomb first. "Better late than never," she muttered, pulling the pipe bomb out of her pack as she turned around only to come face to face with the Tank.

"Uh, Rome?" she called, as it raised its meaty mallets in the air and let out a thunderous roar, flames licking every inch of its body. She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes, prepared for the blow that would end her life, only it didn't come. She peaked an eye open, arms still covering her face, to see the Tank had collapsed at her feet, dead.

"Nevermind!" she called to Rome in case he had heard her call before and was coming to help, then breathed a big sigh of relief at the fate she had narrowly escaped. Turning to enter the radio room, she suddenly felt a slimy snake-like tongue wrap around her neck. Unable to call for help, she clawed at the tongue desperately, overwhelmed with terror as it began to tighten and drag her backwards.

Rome had ran around the roof shooting at the Tank until it collapsed just in front of Aimi. Her bombs had done most of the work. Before she even noticed the Smoker he was scrambling towards her. It reached her when he was jumped by a Hunter who he took out quickly with his knife, desperate to get to Aimi before the tentacle-tongued monstrosity finished her off.

He jumped onto a railing as he ran, using the momentum to keep him balanced longer than his actual balance did then sprung from it over Aimi's head and right onto the Smoker, emptying his clip into its skull. He held his breath as acrid gas spilled out of it and unwrapped its tongue from Aimi's throat only to kick the doubly dead body down the stairs. He looked to her as he reached for her, his hand coming around her bicep.

"Thanks," Aimi gasped as breath returned to her lungs, her voice raspy. Never had air tasted so sweet. He looked into her face single-mindedly without producing any response. She was thankful for Rome's grip pulling her to her feet as she was shaken from the encounter. Rubbing her hands over her bruised throat, she knew they needed to hurry. It was at that moment she heard the helicopter overhead. Distracted by the Smoker, she hadn't noticed its arrival. As she looked up, she could see it approaching the landing pad.

"We've got to hurry!" she cried. Quickly, she pulled a pipe bomb from her pack and tossed it. Thrilled at the opportunity present to him, Rome's dark eyes sparked with life and passion. He waited for the bomb to detonate then left her side and charged into the sea of zombies, swinging, kicking, rolling, twisting to get through them and towards the center of the helipad. From there he whipped out the flamethrower and turned it on the horde at full blast.

Having reached the helicopter first, Aimi battled the wind from the chopper's blades and climbed inside, breathing an audible sigh of relief. "We made it," she smiled as she turned to Rome, only Rome wasn't there.

"Where..." Aimi's eyes flicked from the helipad towards the now flaming horde. "I should have fucking known," she cursed for the first time in all of her life, the swear word rolling awkwardly from her tongue.

"You the only one?" the pilot asked, an impressed expression on his weathered face.

"No, there's one more. Over there," she pointed with a mixture of embarrassment and pride to the ruffian her heart seemed so attached to. When he was satisfied with his accomplishment, Rome looked to the copter. Seeing Aimi there he felt the mission was accomplished. Was he supposed to go with? It was hard to go when he felt the situation here suited him so well so he stood there, staring up at Aimi. She had been watching Rome throughout the short battle. As he finished, she finally let herself breathe. But then, he just stood there.

"Rome!?" she called desperately, "Let's go!"

His mind made up for him, Rome came back to himself and hauled ass to make it to the helicopter and jumped in.


	17. Chapter XVII  Ugly Fact of Life

Characters belong to us, everything else is copyright to Valve

Chapter XVII – An Ugly Fact of Life

Amika lead the group fairly fast. Taking out a few stray infected that Rome and Aimi had either rushed past or overlooked, with some overhead shots from Feo and Farrah to aid her. She heard a growl around the corner and put her hand up to halt Aubrey.

"I think I hear a Hunter," She advised the younger girl and as she peeked around the corner all she saw was a dark flash. She stumbled back and used her gun at the last moment to guard her face from the snarling infected. Aubrey had drawn her gun at Amika's warning and instinctively fired at the hooded blur that had launched itself at her purple shirted friend.

"Feodore!" Blair was about to jump to Amika's rescue but Feodore was suddenly pulled away from her side. As per usual the Smoker's tongue wound around his goddamn neck! He choked but grabbed at the slimy appendage as though he were the one doing the pulling, his face snarled into a wicked grin thinly veiling the fear of being pulled too close. He squeezed the trigger of his machine gun, firing but all he could get was body shots. Blair pivoted on her heel and shot at the Smoker. Her aim had increased and it only took a couple shots to take out the special infected. Blair saved his life. A few moans and growls were heard as a dozen zombies turned the corner.

"Guys!" She called to Dev and Farrah as she rushed up to Feodore to help him up. He coughed but landed on one knee, rubbed his throat and stood up with a hand around her shoulder.

"Knew I liked you for a reason," he joked hoarsely. He coughed again as the smoke hit him then recovered and commented in a more normal voice, "You're a good shot!" He may have sounded a little surprised but it was meant to be a compliment. He didn't wait for a response as he threw himself back into the fray. There were plenty of undead around to keep him occupied.

Dev saw Blair take out the Smoker strangling his brother in arms and thanked god for her being alive. His heart stopped for a beat until the Smoker collapsed backwards. He would stay close to Farrah but if she went in that direction he would scurry over to the pair.

Aubrey's shot had stunned the Hunter and it fell back before shaking its head. It was quick in its recovery and crouched down to launch itself at Aubrey next, but Amika was faster and she used her gun as a melee weapon and knocked it back. She fired her shot gun three times and it slumped back against the wall. Her light brown eyes flicked over around the corner she had initially looked and they widened. She sprinted forward and shoved a Boomer back into a room and jumped back as she shot her gun. Guts sprayed all over the walls, and Amika ducked to miss some that had flung her way.

"Shit, reloading!" She called out to no one in particular but there were a few infected headed towards her from down the hall. It seemed they were being ambushed from both sides. In response to an array of infected Dev was battle-ready. His face turned from its normal handsome, cheerful visage to a blood-hungry mask of mixed rage and excitement, though more the former than the latter. He fought fist and sword and did a surprisingly good job. The special infected were not his forte since they generally needed more planning to fight and long range weapons never hurt but he had taken out his fair share - mostly when saving Feo's ass, admittedly.

"God DAMN, zombies reek!" Yet his overall personality still shown through. The common zombies fell before him like flowers to a weed whacker. His reach was greater than any of them and his machete was quick, strikes clean and powerful. Dev was a force not to be taken lightly.

Cerina had finished cutting Cherry's bonds and kicked her lifeless body off of the chair by the time she heard some shouting and gunshots. She didn't even look at Derick as she walked by and shot him. She closed the door, feeling like she had enough of Cherry's blood on her to attract concern for an easy kill. She found the apocalypse much more satisfying than Rome or Ashton. Not only were there no laws to abide by but no one would simply accuse her of murder or foul play with zombies around. Everyone would assume it was the monsters that were running around, not at all aware of the blood thirsty uninfected Cerina.

"C'MON!," Feo snarled at the writhing fleshy mass, emptying his clip with a careless spray but taking down at least six average zombies. The zombies hadn't started attacking until they were about half way through the hospital, so they rushed by the last floor and towards the stairs leading to the roof.

Farrah cut down the infected that were an immediate threat and paused to scan the rooftop. The dead swarmed the expanse and she wondered where the hell they had come from. She couldn't see a chopper anywhere. She could see a small building off to the right that looked like a control center. There, they could hopefully radio the chopper to come get them. "Over there! We need to get to the control center!" she called to the group, pistol whipping an approaching infected and then gesturing to the building. "We can call for rescue!"

Aubrey heard Farrah's call. Maybe in there they would have an easier time fighting back the horde. They couldn't be attacked from all sides. And the idea of calling rescue sounded pretty damn good. "Let's go!" she cried, falling in line behind Farrah.

"Finally!" Amika cried as they reached the rooftop. They weren't in the clear just yet but it sure felt like they kept inching towards it. She had started to blast close infected with her shotgun to keep them at bay but a roar erupted into her right ear. Her eyes caught sight of the Charger as it dashed forward.

"Look out!" Amika sprinted and pushed Farrah out of the way. The air rushed out of her lungs as the beast collided with her and sent her off of a small ledge. He didn't stop until they crashed into a wall and then proceed to smash Amika's body into the ground. She had lost her gun in the drastic moment and could only scream as her tiny fists beat on his massive forearm.

"_Amikaaa!_" Blair had side stepped out of the way as she flew by her. She couldn't really reach her as a crowd of infected bum rushed the gang. She watched a few helpless seconds as Amika was being brutally murdered by the mutated infected before trying to cut down the surrounding zombies to get to her.

"GODDAMNIT!," Feo roared, unable to get closer due to the crowd of infected. She was too far away. Dev came flying out of nowhere, hollering at the top of his lungs, trying to get to her. He didn't make it as far as either of them wanted him to but he was definitely in the effort. He even threw zombie parts at the Charger.

Amika's struggle slowed as her body started to shut down from the attack. She couldn't help but imagine a health bar reaching zero as her vision began to seep with black. The last actual thought on her mind was her sister, Miela.

"Fuck.. zombies..." Were her last words as her body went limp. The Charger dropped her as soon as her eyes closed and turned. Farrah didn't have to look at Amika's body to know. She knew with every fiber of her being that her friend was gone. As the Charger turned to find new prey, Farrah was waiting for it. Face thick with emotion, she fired her bullets into its sick meaty flesh. A dull numbness seemed to wash through her and it was as if the world was moving in slow motion. Slug after slug rocked the infected's thick body. How could she have missed it? Why hadn't she seen it sooner? Why hadn't she gotten to her faster? The thoughts stung her consciousness, paralyzing everything but her ability to think. Unable to flinch as it charged towards her, it collapsed mere inches from her size four feet. Although the Charger was clearly dead, her finger was still heavy on the trigger. Farrah didn't even seem to be aware that she was still firing. _I failed..._

Aubrey was not far behind Farrah. Following after the others, who cut down the majority of the infected, her small build allowed her to slip through the crowd after the other small blonde. Flying to Amika's side, she collapsed next to her. "Amika? Amika! Say something! Anything! _Please?_" Never had she seen the other girl so still. After all the close encounters they had had, why did she have to die now? Aubrey couldn't hold back let alone identify all the emotions that coursed through her as she began to sob uncontrollably.

'_NO_!,' Feo screamed in his own mind but bit back the cry as he threw himself towards her, finally surmounting the waves of zombies and reaching her. He pushed Aubrey back and moved to Amika. He put his fingers to her neck and looked into her face and then at the damage her body had taken. Feo picked up a piece of cool metal lying on the ground next to her and put it below her nose and threw it away a second later.

He looked up and around, his mind thrown into a panic but having the opposite reaction of Farrah. He didn't feel failure or defeat or anything with certainty other than that he could not allow Amika to die. Miela would kill him. She'd get a permit from St. Peter to park in front of the gates of Hell and when he died, she'd guilt him into oblivion.

Clip empty, Farrah forced herself to look over. Aubrey's sobbing ate at her, its futility firing an anger deep inside. There had to be something they could do. They were on top of a fucking hospital! Feo moved his arms around the eldest Reegan sister and scooped her up. It took some effort but he managed to get her around his shoulders in a fireman's carry. He reloaded a handgun and looked around. He had to get her somewhere he could lay her down.. They had to get her heart beating while there was still some blood moving inside her...

As Feodore picked up Amika, Blair couldn't watch. She bit her lip and hugged herself as thick tears cascaded down her cheeks. Aubrey's pain was evident as she cried aloud and Blair could share the moment with her. Amika's death must have brought back her memories. She walked over to her, still unable to really process the fact that she would never hear Amika's voice again. She tugged on the other girls' gun insisting she follow them. She didn't need Aubrey doing anything dramatic. She knew that Aubrey felt that Amika was the only one who really cared for her in the group, despite it being true they needed to focus. Dev was beyond words. He finally made it to them and looked into Feo's face. He couldn't bear to touch Amika but he did want to reach out to her.

"We have to get into that fucking radio tower," Feo said, his desperation lacing his words. "Blair! Watch our backs!"

Dev steeled himself for more gore and moved firmly to the front, ready to clear a path for Feo if it cost him an arm or a leg or even more. Blair nodded to Feodore's order and she scanned the area for any threats.

"Everyone stay together!," Dev said in a powerful tone, his face already fierce.

Farrah didn't seem to hear him as she raced ahead. Her mind kept flashing to the defibrillator she had trained with back in her lifeguarding days. There had to be one in the tower ahead. Out of ammo, she used her acrobatics to stay clear of the infected. Reaching the door of the control tower, she burst through and began frantically searching the walls for the defib. She sighed with audible relief as she spied the red box on the far wall. Only then did her eyes fall on what was in between. "Cerina!"


	18. Chapter XVIII - Heartwarmer

Characters belong to us, everything else is copyright to Valve

Chapter XVIII – Heartwarmer

"Hm?" Cerina turned at the sound of her voice. Her dark eyes drank in the bodies that entered the room, as if she could only see the blood running through their veins.

"Sir who?" Feo fumbled.

"H- Hot zombie?," Dev sputtered, storming into the door just after Feo - how that had happened he wasn't sure, probably when he turned to look for Aubrey and Blair and Feo had taken over covering Farrah's sprint. The two boys gaped at the dark beauty before them who, despite the surrounding chaos and blood, looked like she'd stepped out of a magazine. A sexy magazine.

"What a babe," Feo blurted.

"What a _bombshell_!," Dev corrected, not sure if he was seeing something real.

"What a bitch!" Farrah scowled angrily. How anyone could consider that evil miserable horrid woman anything else was inconceivable! Her opinion of Feo and Dev drastically deteriorated.

The pair looked at Farrah, confused and surprised then back to Cerina. Feo started to lay Amika on the floor while Dev secured the door. Somehow, they all seemed on the same page. However, Cerina had started to grow a devious smile at their comments but Farrah was the one who shattered any hope. She looked down at Amika's still form and a smirk lit up her features.

"Is that any way you should be talking to me?" She snatched up the defibrillator from the wall and waved it in front of them. She jumped up onto the counter where the radio was, the man on the other end checking for survivors.

"Poor, poor, poor Amika." Her voice mocked sadness and she kicked her feet. "Too bad. She was always a great asset to the team. Little Farrah over there just lost her chance of bringing her back."

"You're.. not going to help her?! She's dead at your feet and you want us to bow to you?!" Blair was heated. Her angry expression evident even in her voice as it took a sharper tone.

"It was probably going to end up that way anyway." Cerina chuckled. Dev and Feo were speechless, unlike all of the females surrounding them, it seemed. On the other hand, they had no prior knowledge of Cerina and absolutely no qualms about putting Amika before her. They held up loaded guns and aimed at her.

"Now now, I wouldn't get so trigger happy." Cerina pulled out a pistol from behind her and aimed it at a gas tank that was next to Amika's body. "I'll have you all up in flames before I even hit the floor."

"I'm fireproof," Dev snapped, even angrier now than before.

"What do you _want_?," Feo snarled. "What the fuck do you stand to gain by letting her die?" Neither of them had stopped to lower their weapons.

"I gain the fact that her death will make a lot of people sad. Farrah will slowly begin to lose her fight. Her best friend is dead, need I say more? Her girlfriend," Her eyes flicked to Blair, who flinched, "Will slowly succumb to the same thing. My work is pretty much doing itself.. With Miela dead what did Amika really have to live for?" Feo snarled but real words were trapped in his throat behind waves of rage.

"She had me. Come on Cerina. There must be some way we can work this out," Aubrey all but pleaded. The facade of her memory loss forgotten among the feelings that Amika's death brought.

"Why the _fuck_ are you still alive?!" Cerina snarled and immediately jumped from her perch to aim her gun directly at Aubrey.

Farrah wasn't about to play games. "Give me the defibrillator or I'll fucking kill you." She knew Amika was running out of time.

Farrah's words entered Cerina's mind but she held her stance. "Let me finish what I started with Aubrey and you can have it."

"Then hurry up! Amika's running out of time!" Farrah insisted.

Aubrey's eyes widened at the gun in her face. She glanced desperately around the room for help. "What do you mean?"

"Just stop it and give it to us! If Aubrey dies Amika won't even want to come back." Blair had a hint of sadness in her voice but she knew it was true. Her own gun was still aimed at Cerina.

"Farrah just sealed the deal." Cerina tossed the defib unit and her gun went off.

Rome swore. What luck. The world was spinning outside the helicopter and he was practically glued to his seat by the centrifugal force.

'_Get to the damn helicopter to die anyway.. Fuck this_,' he thought, doing what was perhaps the only good deed he'd ever willingly, knowingly committed in all of his born days, Rome kicked himself off from the back of the seat and threw himself towards Aimi. He didn't even know what had happened to bring the helicopter spinning to its demise but if anything could be salvaged out of the wreckage, he figured it out to be her.

'_At least it's a fuckin cool way to die.._'

The magnificent smile on Cerina's face was wiped away as Blair was the one who kicked Aubrey to the side and away from the fired bullet. Dev grabbed Farrah, who seemed to be confident in the use of the defib while Feo dove for the box. They could only do so much but Amika was the priority. Dev deposited Farrah and turned back towards Blair and the other two women when the room was rocked by an explosion. He didn't think, he just half slid, half fell across the room and threw himself over Blair and in doing so covered Aubrey as well.

A helicopter blade sliced through the window, forcing Cerina to jump backwards to avoid being bisected at the waist. The corner of the roof collapsed where the nose of a helicopter hit and the small room became smaller, sufficiently encasing them all in debris and darkness.

Coughing, Dev struggled to find the floor, braced his hands against it when he finally did and pushed up as though he were merely exercising. Chunks of cement fell off to one side and he looked under himself, concerned. Had he saved or crushed Blair?

Blair would try to struggle to get from under Dev after he partially got up. She was being squished, though it probably saved her, and she was practically rubbing elbows with... _Aubrey_. The mere thought of it was enough for her to spring up and get behind Dev in seconds. Feo unfurled himself from around Farrah and Amika's upper body.

"You alright?," he asked Farrah. "You guys okay?," he raised his voice to check on Dev and Blair - oh, and Aubrey.

"Thanks big guy..." Blair nodded to Dev before kneeling next to Amika. Dev nodded at her too and glanced at Aubrey to see if she was also alright. The girlfriend would start to pick through her pockets for any pieces of metal. Dev helped empty her pockets but when he got to the end of her body he moved towards Feo and started to look for a way out. There were really crunched for time now if they wanted Amika to live. The hard headed girls memory caused her to know all of the steps it needed to take. She took off Amika's shirt and glanced at her boys with a small sympathetic look. Once turned away she took off Amika's bra but laid her shirt over her bare chest. She let them know that Amika's lady bits were covered.

"Thanks," Feo replied to Blair but they both kept their backs towards the women and felt out the walls, tried to gather a sense of their surroundings, any weapons they'd dropped before and lights.

Farrah grabbed the defibrillator as Blair prepared her body. She was relieved to see it had a charge as she turned it on. The audio briefed her on the basic steps as she attached the pads, one to Amika's upper right and the other to her lower left. She waited impatiently as it scanned for any heart activity and then commanded her to press the shock button.

"Stand back!" she shouted and pushed the button, watching as Amika's body jolted with the electricity. Her eyes scanned Amika's features hopefully. She had never actually seen anyone brought back to life through its use before. Only, nothing happened. The machine scanned for activity again and commanded her to administer a second shock. _What if they were too late? _she wondered as Amika's body received a second wave of electricity. Even with their backs to the action, the two were paying keen attention and Dev was having trouble breathing so tense was he until -

"...fuck.." Amika muttered as her body started up again. She coughed a few times and groaned even more. Her eyes started to slowly open. Farrah and Blair started to come to focus in her vision. She wasn't sure what had really happened.

"FUCK YOU!," Feo shouted, coming out of nowhere and slapping her across the face. Amika blinked a few times but his slap had knocked her to her senses completely. He dropped his head and his hands were curled fists on his knees as he cried with a surprisingly angry expression.

"You are so dead!" Amika started to shout at him but was pushed down by Blair, who was soon hugging her tightly.

"If you ever die on me again, I'll fucking kill you!," he snapped back. Dev shoved his knuckles under his eye but sniffled with a smile.

"Dead?" Amika patted Blair on her back as she sobbed into her shoulder and her eyes looked to Farrah for answers. She had remembered... reaching the rooftop but not much else.

"Yes. You got hit by a Charger and got pushed off to somewhere we couldn't reach you.." Blair explained as she pulled away and gained some composure. She would give other people room to either hug or punch Amika as well.

"Dumbass," Dev said, tears stubbornly sprouting from his eyes and trickling down his cheek as he put a hand to Feo's back. His friend cried against his leg as Dev continued to smile, relieved.

Farrah tackled Amika to the floor, overcome with happiness and disbelief. "Don't you ever do that to me again!" she cried as she began to smother Amika with a combination of hugs and punches. Amika grabbed her shirt to keep it from falling off of her and laughed at the attention. She grabbed Farrah into a headlock and hugged her tightly.

"Geez, I can't even die without you still saving my ass." She glanced to Dev and Feo as she stood up. She turned away from them to put her bra back on. With her shirt over her head she ran a hand through her hair and surveyed the team with an appreciative smile.

Feo forced himself to get it together and when he had cleared off his face he sucked in a breath and said, "So.. I guess we're not getting out of here by helicopter. Back to the safe room, unless one of you has a brilliant suggestion."

"If we can get out of here first. What the hell happened?" Amika looked around the structure.. or what was left of it.

"This Cerina-woman held the defib unit that brought you back to life hostage." Blair started to explain.

"All she wanted was to kill Aubrey, though, so Farrah traded her for the defib." Dev shrugged and casually continued, "Then the helicopter crashed into building. Hence the mess." The big man made it sound like she only cared about the latter half of the explanation.

"_What?!_" Amika looked incredibly angry until her eyes found the short girl. She released a huge sigh and shot Dev a look. "You trying to kill me again!?"

She punched him in the arm with all her strength, which wasn't much at the moment, on her way to Aubrey. She pulled her into a hug for a long moment. Aubrey couldn't muster up enough voice to speak. It was all she could do to keep from crying as she hugged Amika tightly.

Dev chuckled and remarked, "No! Just makin' sure your heart can still pound."

"Asshole!" He reached out, as she yelled at him, and ruffled her messy hair with a toothy Dev grin.

"The wall over there is weak. We should be able to dig out of it," Feo said, bringing things back to reality though he was and looked and sounded exhausted, probably just like all the rest of them. "We should have a line of people digging and a line of people shooting to cover them.."

"I'll shoot!" Farrah offered, knowing her skills did not include digging a tunnel through rubble. "But I'm out of ammo. Anyone have extra?"

"I... don't have a weapon anymore." Amika kissed the side of Aubrey's head and turned back to Farrah. Aubrey felt herself blushing. _What the hell? Since when do I blush... _She rubbed her cheek absently as she pondered the strange feelings coursing through her.

"I can help dig." Blair piped up, pretending not to notice the moment between Amika and Aubrey.

"There isn't much but we found some weapons and ammo.. mostly recovered our own," Dev said, kicking three guns from one side of the floor towards the girls. One had less than half a clip left and no more magazines but it was something. He and Feo were definitely on dig duty and Amika was definitely not. Without more to say, Feo stretched his neck a little and started at a weak spot at the bottom. Dev started up higher because he was up higher but also so there would be less to fall on the heads of those digging below him.

Farrah picked up one of the guns and took up position behind the diggers, although it seemed like it might be awhile before they dug far enough out to worry about zombies approaching. Blair started up right along with Feodore and Dev. Amika suddenly felt very light headed and she had to resign to sitting against the wall. She had a gun in her lap while she watched them work.

Aubrey caught Amika's pale expression and settled in beside her. She had found one of their packs and wrestled some water and snacks from it. "Here. You look like you could use this," she smiled softly as she handed them over. She still couldn't get a grip on her emotions. It was as if Amika's near death brought to life all the feelings she had tried to deny. Only, what was the point in denying them? They could die any moment. For once couldn't she just be honest and see what the hell happened.

"Thanks.." Amika smiled back at her and started to drink the water. She felt like scarfing everything down but didn't want to get an upset stomach later, so she controlled herself. Looking back over at Aubrey she studied her for a moment. "What's wrong?"

"When I saw you die like that... when I thought I'd lost you... it made me realize how much you really mean to me. I don't want to keep playing these games. If you want to be with Blair, I understand. But I want you to know that I... that I...," she looked up at Amika, eyes filled with hope and sincerity, "I love you."

Feo gagged and coughed, apparently totally unrelated as he was hip deep in rubble. Dev looked down at him and found his friend was a little wide eyed.

"You okay?" Dev's eyes shot up in concern.

"Y-yup.. Just had one of those gross burps, you know?" He shook his head. "Weird." Dev shrugged and went back to digging.

Farrah fell off her rock as she overhead Aubrey's statement. The gun clattered to the floor as she hit the ground. Luckily she had left the safety on the weapon until there was more of a threat. She picked herself up, hoping no one had seen her reaction. She couldn't believe Aubrey. The worst part was it actually sounded like she meant it._ Dear god... _She couldn't help but glance at Blair, wondering if the other girl had heard.

Blair worked up a sweat as she continued to dig and was completely oblivious to the situation going on behind her. Amika had watched Aubrey carefully as she spoke. The look on the other girls face caused a bit of concern and then the confession. Amika's eyes widened and her lips parted in soft surprise. She hadn't exactly expected this when the question first entered her mind.

"Well, I.." She was at a loss for words. No one outside of people who she considered family had uttered those words to her.. and Aubrey looked pretty damn serious about it. Amika's eyes slowly roamed back to Blair, though it was only to see if she had overheard. As Aubrey's realization came to her through Amika's death, the barrier to Amika's feelings shattered at her words. She stared at her for a long while. Tracing every single feature of her face and recounting every single memory she shared with Aubrey. It was then that she realized.. The deep desire to protect her when they first met, how wrong she felt when Aubrey had separated from her, and when they shared their moment in the shower.. Her relationship with Blair had been forgotten and all that mattered was Aubrey.

"I, uhm,... I.. Me too." She struggled for a moment but her face recovered to show Aubrey her sincerity. She then slowly leaned in to kiss her. Feo coughed again, this time in a fit and not just one or two little coughs. Dev patted his back with a worried expression. The smaller man put a hand over his stomach and looked down with a frown.

"I'm really not feeling so hot.."

Aubrey was tempted to receive the kiss, but leaned away. "I'm so happy you said that," she smiled, but there was more that she needed to be honest about. "I need to know if it's over with Blair."

Amika looked down and realized that she did have to officially break it off with Blair. It would be hard but it was something that had to be done. She sat back against the wall with a sigh. "Fair enough. We can continue this after I break up with Blair."

"I think.. I think we're almost out!" Blair cried as she pulled out from her dig spot. She looked to Farrah and then Amika and Aubrey with delight. Suddenly a decaying fist broke through the wall.

"Yup.. almost out," Dev said more quietly with a sigh. Then he curled his fist back, a giant chunk of wall in hand and threw it forward where he estimated the zombies head was with a snarling expression. He did not expect that a zombie was on the zombie he had just punched out (like a boss). A Jockey invited itself into their temporary shelter, giggling maniacally. Feo shuddered at the sound but pushed against the base of the wall, using the wall itself as ammunition to clear a space for them to move out of the small space and back onto the Infected covered rooftop.

Amika came to a stand and wobbled slightly in front of Aubrey. Her eyes hopped around trying to keep the special infected in her sights but he was a quick bastard and she had just been clinically dead for about five minutes. Blair didn't have any weapons from digging and she shuddered at the thought of being touched by that thing, let alone attacked by it.

"Farrah! Fucking shoot it!" Normally the photographer would never utter such a word, but the situation was making her crazy. Her mind jumbled at the fact that it would launch itself at her. Feo and Dev stopped and turned to stare at her for the filthy language with a mixture of stunned and disturbed on their faces.

Farrah had been having a wonderful daydream in which she murdered Aubrey and everything went back to normal. Blair's cry brought her back to their present situation. She spotted the Jockey and raised her gun, pulling the trigger as its laser sight flicked on the Jockey's skull. Only, she had forgotten to take it off safety.

"Crap!" she cried, as the Jockey lunged for her. She took the safety off and tried to aim again, but the Jockey wrapped its spindly appendages around her skull and she couldn't very well shoot at herself. "Help!" she cried as she dropped the gun and tried frantically to pry the thing off. At the sight of the Jockey, Aubrey relived the nightmare of the showers. Thankfully it went for Farrah this time and not herself.

Hardly slow to action and rock still in hand, Dev snagged one of its scrawny legs and delivered a crushing blow to the creature, forcing it to release Farrah. He spun with its leg still in hand and used its top heavy body against it. He threw it into a wall and followed up with a single punch, using all of his body weight and that of the piece of wall in his hand to crush its skull. He snorted at it as he waited for it to stop twitching before he leaned back and stood at his proper height.

"Farrah!" Amika shook her head to keep her nausea at bay as she rushed over to her best friend. She knelt down by her as Dev finished it off. If she had tried to get up Amika would help her. It didn't look like the Jockey had sunk its claws into her skin deeply.. Amika tried to get a better look at them once Farrah was standing.

"I'm alright," Farrah replied reassuringly. Her neck stung where the Jockey had clawed her, but Dev's fast response had saved her from any serious injuries. Still, she felt some blood trickling from her neck and she wiped her hand at it haphazardly before searching for a bandage.

"Here." Amika had found what was left of Farrah's bag and started to patch her up. Blair walked over and slouched against the wall in relief. Her grey eyes soon made count of all the guns and that there weren't enough for everyone.

"Once we get out of here... who's going to cover who? There isn't enough guns for everyone and I don't think Amika is in the best condition to be running around." She voiced her concern. She started to fidget, the thought of more infected getting in making her paranoid. It would only be a matter of seconds until everyone was drowning in zombie guts and Boomer bile.

"I can carry Amika again," Feo volunteered. "Boulder-hands over there seems pretty well equipped, weapon-wise. Otherwise, we can go out there first and lure them away. You guys need to get back to the safe room.."

"I would rather have Blair carry me." Amika looked at him pointedly. She still couldn't let go of some of her previous feelings of her younger sisters boyfriend and would literally be caught dead, again, then be carried by him.

"Some of us give a crap about Blair and want her to survive, so stuff it Cookie or I'm gonna give you another round with the defib." He smiled.

"Don't you ever call me Cookie again.. and I think I can walk." Amika grabbed the side of her head briefly feeling a pinch of a headache but lamely recovered to show Feo she was capable of taking care of herself.

"Look, realistically, a walk might not be fast enough. If you can't go faster than that you're going to get yourself killed. Again. Or someone else. Who's to say that going faster than a walk won't kill you?" Feo answered back.

"You died once today. Let's leave it at that. I'll carry you if you want. Give you a gun and strap you to my back. We're like a transformer. Together, we make a Tank!" Dev grinned goofily, trying to find a common ground between the 'in-laws'.

"I'm with Dev then!" Amika picked up her gun and reloaded it. Dev chuckled and exchanged a secretive high five with Feo.

"That means that Feodore can cover Aubrey and I. Farrah can hold her own, but we'll all be watching each others backs." Blair looked from Farrah to Feodore and then landed on Aubrey with a nod. Sure, she wasn't fond of the other girl but they all needed each other to survive.

"If you can stay balanced, you can sit on my shoulders," Dev said to Amika. It would make them more reasonable to have in the front. If Amika were on his back it would only make sense for Dev and Amika to take up the rear but Dev was a powerful prow for the team and with Amika safely out of most of the harms way they would be easy to follow.

Amika climbed up onto Dev's shoulders with ease. She had her gun cocked and ready to go whenever someone would take the lead. He shrugged her into place and twisted his neck a little. Bloody rock in one hand, bare knuckles of the other curled into a fist, he got ready to move.

"Everyone ready? Let's get the hell out of here!" Farrah called as she led the way out of the rubble. Blinking as her eyes adjusted to the sunlight, she scanned the rooftop. Oddly, there were no immediate infected visible. Then, to her disbelief, she heard the sound of a chopper. It hovered overhead and a voice called out over a megaphone, "Are there any survivors?"

"Yes!" Aubrey cried desperately. Waving her arms and jumping up and down. "Help! Please!"

The chopper spotted them and prepared to land. Just then, the roar of an incoming horde sounded.


	19. Chapter XIX - Mercy Killer

Characters belong to us, everything else is copyright to Valve

Chapter XIX – Mercy Killer

"Get to the chopp~a!" Blair cried in her best Arnold impression. Amika laughed at Blair and grinned down at her from her position on Dev's shoulders before cocking her gun and shooting at the swarm of zombies.

"We can't risk landing with the horde coming! You'll have to climb up the safety ladder!" the uniformed man called over the megaphone as he extended a rope ladder down from the helicopter. Farrah began firing at the incoming infected, gesturing for the others to start climbing.

"Last one up is zombie bait!," Dev shouted joking but serious, swinging and kicking but trying not to spin for Amika's sake and the sake of their friends behind him. Being that she was the one closest to the sky, he expected to feel her weight lift at any moment. Amika was indeed the first to start the climb up the rope. Her entire body felt sore, but the comfort of the helicopter caused her to push forward. Blair hopped up the ladder next and followed in behind Amika.

"Thank you God.." Amika collapsed into a seat after making it over the edge.

"I can't believe we made it!" Blair gushed while out of breath. She smiled over to Amika as she sat down next to her. Aubrey was right behind Blair. She raised her eyebrows at the seating but for once let Blair have Amika to herself. She meant what she said about playing games. Amika didn't really notice and let her body relax against the chair. It felt like it had been forever since she had gotten a comfortable place to sit.

Blair did get up from her spot to help Farrah into the helicopter. She peered over the edge to see if Feodore and Dev started up the ladder, feeling a little dizzy from the height. Amika opened her eyes and went to sit next to Farrah on the other side, pulling Aubrey with her. She figured Blair would be more comfortable sitting in between Dev and Feo.

"FUCK!," Feo shouted from below as the Horde closed in like the walls of a throat, ready to swallow them both. A Smoker got the upper hand on Dev, taking his legs right out from under him and bringing the big man toppling down. Feo dropped off the ladder he'd been climbing and turned back, firing madly and scrambling to get to Dev before he was dragged away.

"DEV!" Blair screamed and felt her heart drop. Amika perked up from her spot next to Aubrey at the sound in Blair's voice and started to fire down at the horde. She had thought that they had enough distance from the gnashing zombies to make it in the helicopter in one piece. He wasn't going easily, that was for damn sure. He was weakening. He felt it before they left the room the second time. His punch at that Jockey had been too slow.. but he hadn't expected it to catch up to him this quickly.

'_Goddamnit, Feo, you were almost out.._'

Farrah grabbed her gun. With the scope, she was able to follow the tongue to the ugly mouth of the Smoker on a nearby rooftop. "Dirty bastard," she muttered as she pulled the trigger. He erupted in a cloud of smoke. "The end of the world and I'm still cleaning up trash."

"Seriously Farrah?" Amika couldn't help but falter at the comment and shook her head at her with a smile.

Farrah glanced back at Amika with a slight frown, "Too awesome?"

"Too much." Amika laughed and turned her attention back to the zombies.

Farrah shrugged and went back to target practice. The crowd thinned considerably with their help and Feo managed to catch the hand of his friend and haul him to his feet, mostly fueled by desperation and fear. Choking and sputtering but still damn determined to live, he reached for Feo and fought to get to his feet. He practically threw the smaller man up the ladder - with what strength, he didn't know but he wasn't about to let them get Feo when he'd almost gotten out once. This time he didn't hesitate to ascend, closely on the heels of the smaller man.

A Hunter aimed its pounce at Feo but Amika's gun took it out and it flew right by them. She reached forward and hauled up Feo's skinny ass into the helicopter. She quickly turned her attention to Farrah as she started to help Dev inside as well.

"Farrah, tell the pilot we're ready to get the hell out of here!" Amika then started to bring in the ladder.

"Let's get out the hell out of here!" Farrah cried, leaning into the cockpit of the chopper.

"Uhm, what?" the copilot asked. Farrah frowned as she considered her sentence.

"You know what I mean!" she blushed and walked back to her seat.

Dev reached for her when he saw her coming back. He was parked on the floor because he was too big for the seats with everyone else around. Farrah smiled at Dev as she scanned his face, finding a comfort in his warm features. "You've got some drywall on you," she murmured as she sat down next to him, and brushed it off his cheek.

"Saving my life, one dust spot at a time," he said, curling an arm around her and pulling her closer. "Was that you who took out the Smoker for me?"

"Someone had to help him quit the habit," she replied. Dev chuckled from deep in his chest and rubbed a hand up her arm. He tipped his head towards her and kissed the side of her head.

"Good for him and good for me. Thank you."

"It was the least I could do after you saved my life," Farrah smiled as she snuggled in against him.

"Oh yea.. I guess you're right. But who's keeping track?," the big man asked with a grin as he looked down at her and watched her curl closer.

'_Man, if I could purr, I'd so be doing it right now_..' He too was about ready to drop and without further conversation would be well on his way to almost sleeping in no time. Of course, being unsecured and on the floor of a moving helicopter caused him to wake up before he ever really got to sleep, which was pure torture but it was balanced out against cuddling with Farrah.

Amika sat next to Feodore for the time being. She wasn't ready to talk to Blair yet, with everyone in such close quarters. Plus, being so close to both women made Amika feel a mixture of things. She would deal with her emotions like she normally did, ignore it for now and deal with it later. She also felt extremely tired. Being brought back from the dead took a lot out of a person. She closed her eyes briefly and leaned against Feo's shoulder, though she didn't put her head on him.

"Wake me when we finally get to safety.." She dozed off. He watched her settle against him and realized for the first time how protective he felt of her, despite all of their bickering and all of their differences.

"Yea okay.. Thanks for sniping that Hunter, by the way..." Feo attempted to give his thanks but Amika only muttered a 'whatever' as her features fully formed her angelic look while she slept. He shook his head at her but it probably wouldn't be long before he too started to doze. Even the sound of the helicopter couldn't keep him awake.

"You never thanked me by the way.." After watching Amika and Feodore, Blair gave Aubrey a sheepish smile and her tone was actually friendly for once as she spoke to her.

Aubrey studied Blair for a moment, surprised at the comment. "I... yes. You're right. Thank you. I was so surprised. Why did you do that for me?" Aubrey asked, truly confused by the fact that Blair had willingly taken a bullet for her. Never would she have expected that from the woman who hated her.

"Because you make Amika happy. I can see that." Blair's gaze moved downward at the comment but felt slightly better at actually verbalizing it. "If she's happy then I am too."

Unsure of what to say, Aubrey nodded in acknowledgement. She didn't want to say anything to set Blair off, but she wasn't accustomed to her amicableness. She hoped what Blair said was true. "Do you think we could ever be friends?" Aubrey asked instead. She wouldn't be hurt if Blair said no, she was expecting it. But she figured it would be better if it was all out in the open.

Blair sat for a minute and actually pondered what it would be like. Sadly, too much had gone on for Blair to truly consider her a friend. "I'm sorry... I can play nice, but after what you knowingly did... I don't think we can."

Aubrey couldn't fault her honesty. It was such a weird predicament. She could save her life but never be her friend. There were too many raw emotions and betrayals to be real friends. But if they could be amicable, at least that was something. "I understand," she replied and then let the silence fill the empty void between them as she settled into her seat to endure the ride. Blair turned away from Aubrey and partially laid down.

It was Dev who eventually reached over and tugged on Feo's pant leg to get his attention. Feo kicked him off by reflex but looked down a second later and realized he wasn't a zombie. Dev looked like he was about to explain but Feo could see they were starting to descend. It was dark out and wherever they were was a long way away from the city. There were no tall buildings to be seen and plenty of stars in the sky, though that had become more normal when the power grid went down.

Feo reached over and did something he was certain would wake Amika almost instantly. He reached over and lifted her bangs off of her forehead. Amika jerked her head and her hand reached for her hair. Her eyes started to flutter open and she slowly sat up. She still felt sore in some places, no thanks to her sleeping position, but she felt better in a lot of aspects.

"We're... somewhere," Feo said, his voice uneven from sleep and a little deeper than usual. "We're landing."

Meanwhile, Dev lifted a hand and lightly stroked Farrah's cheek, trying to wake her as well. He wanted to be on guard if there were zombies on the ground, which seemed inevitable at this point. Amika stretched and came to a stand. She stumbled across the helicopter to wake Blair up and then tried for Aubrey.

Blair swatted at her at first, recognizing Amika's voice and usual motion of being woken up by her girlfriend, but realized the context of 'landing' through her sleepy haze. She sat up slowly and watched Amika try to wake up Aubrey. The entire situation she was slowly beginning to accept, what else could she do about it without creating even more drama? She even found a tiny bit of amusement in Amika shaking Aubrey. It didn't seem that whatever she did was any help in rising the girl.

Farrah yawned sleepily as she woke. "Are we there?" she asked as she sat up. She hadn't expected to fall asleep, but wasn't surprised that she did. She was awfully comfortable in Dev's arms.

"I guess so," Dev said, his arm still around her. He yawned himself and couldn't wait to stand. His back was killing him but even so he watch as Farrah regained consciousness. Blair was the first one to hop out of the chopper. She stretched again, how long had they been out?

"Is this it?" Amika asked as she stepped down. Aubrey was in her arms still sleeping.

"Not yet. We need to stock up a few items and then gas up the 'copter." Amika nodded at the pilot and shifted Aubrey in her hold.

"Is there a shelter or something for us to wait in?" Amika asked him as the others got out. He looked to the group and nodded. He gestured for them to follow. He led them to the outskirts of a small town. Their helicopter was on a private landing strip. There were barricades all around, looking like a mini version of the Great Wall of China. Though there were some spots that looked like they had just been repaired.

He had to reassure one of the guardsmen that none of them were infected or carrying the virus. They had been human when he picked them up and stayed that way for the couple hour trip. It seemed like this town was only used for passing through. The pilot had explained that his team continued to make small trips back to the city in search of survivors. He half mentioned his wife and brother but didn't comment further.

"Now that you're in you can go get yourselves a few rooms at the motel. It's not far from here. We can leave in the morning. I'll be making an announcement early. If you miss it.. I'm sorry." He explained plainly and then walked off to gather his own supplies.

"All in all, doesn't seem like a bad place to get stuck..," Dev said with a shrug. He yawned and started to plod off in the direction the hotel had been indicated. He was probably more tired than any of the rest of them now since he'd gotten virtually no sleep at all during the flight.

"Agreed." Blair followed him. It seemed like it once was a nice little town, but it had obviously weathered down due to the harsh arrival of the zombies. Feo went along behind them, trying to be perkier and more on guard than his tired friends. He patted Dev on the back and rested a hand on Blair's shoulder with a gentle squeeze.

"Hope they have some running water for showers.."

"Yea.. Anyone wanna bandage me up when we get there? I'm a fucking mess.." Dev chuckled though he was somewhat serious.

"Ugh, the word 'shower' sounds so good but so.. not good at the same time." The last time Blair had heard that word she ended up losing Amika. Couldn't be helped now, and she only muttered it low enough for Feodore to hear.

_'She needs to wake up soon..' _ Amika thought to herself as she followed them, taking up the back as she had extra weight. She didn't seem to mind and Aubrey was light enough that she couldn't complain too much. She was actually alive and not dead at some Charger's feet.

"I can patch you up when we get there Dev!" He looked over his shoulder with a grin at Amika.

"Here I was hoping Farrah would volunteer. Thanks, Amika. You probably know how to patch a person up the best since you were always the one getting hurt. Do you want me to get that for you?," he asked, just now realizing that she was quiet and lagging behind because she was carrying Aubrey. He didn't understand why she wouldn't wake her up and make her walk like the rest of them but he felt bad for her. She didn't look _that _much bigger than Aubrey to him and didn't imagine carrying dead weight bride-groom style was comfortable after dying and coming back to life.

"Farrah's the one who usually patches me up though.. So maybe she should actually do it." She chuckled and bounced her eyebrows at her best friend in question. Dev dipped his head appreciatively to Amika and his grin widened.

"No, you look a lot more worn out than I do. Besides, we're almost there. I'm going to stand her up and see what happens when I do." Amika grinned as she joked. Blair laughed at the mental image and imagined Aubrey to just fall onto her back. She had never seen such a heavy sleeper, Amika could've thrown her through the helicopter windshield and she still didn't think Aubrey would've woken up.

Dev laughed too. Even Feo gave a little chuckle, though he didn't look back. He was feeling a little peeved with what he was sensing happening between Amika and Blair now. Somehow, after a nap, things seemed much clearer though he couldn't pretend to be as mad at Amika as he might have been in other circumstances. Blair herself seemed to have come to grips with Amika's shift of affections. This didn't stop him from wanting to punch her in the face but after the way the day had gone he wasn't willing to endanger the relationship he did have with Amika even if he deeply disapproved of what she was doing to Blair and for whom.

"I'd be happy to clean you up. Your wounds, I mean," Farrah told Dev, blushing. What was it about him that made her heart race like it did? Dev smiled.

As they rounded the street, Farrah could see a sign directing them to the motel at the opposite end of the road. The town had a dozen or so buildings surrounded by a thick forest, the sun setting in beautiful reds and pinks behind it. Street lights began to flick on in the shadows of the day. "They've got electricity. That's a good sign!"

There were some other survivors around on the streets cleaning up from what appeared to be a recent attack. They were bagging and dragging away bodies, boarding up broken windows, and she could overhear some discussing the guarding rotations of the town's perimeter. "We'll need extra on tonight. Damn choppers are always bringing infected in their wake," one muttered angrily. Farrah waved a hello to those who made eye contact, receiving a few warm responses but even more cool stares. They seemed overall unconcerned with their presence so she continued on to the motel.

All the way at the end of the small town, they found the small one story building. There was an old pickup truck in the dirt parking lot, but seemed otherwise vacated. An older man sat in the truck bed sorting through piles of ammo and miscellaneous weapons.

"You're the ones that came off the chopper, aren't ya?" he called out to the group, more of a statement than a question. "You're the only group in transition tonight. All the others left yesterday. Nothin' but townsfolk left now." The radio sounded from his back pocket. "Roger that. Chickens in the coop. Post in 20. 10-4," he responded. He pulled out a gun and locked up the rest before climbing out of the truck.

"You kids can stay here but it's $200 a night," he explained and looked between them. Feo stared at him as though he'd lost his mind, then his face twitched and began to relax. Dev on the other hand continued to look at him as though the man had just turned into Big Bird. Amika pushed her way between them, holding up a gold card. The shock returned to Feo's face and he stared at Amika with Dev.

"You guys take credit?" The man couldn't stop himself from chuckling and then laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation. Like money had any value any more? And she had a credit card?! He didn't even bother to check if the card was real or not. Amika snorted in disapproval when she wasn't taken seriously.

"C'mon, there are a few rooms. Since no one else is around, you can have three with two beds. Last group left quite a bit a' supplies behind. Looks like you could probably use 'em. Here're the keys." Farrah gratefully took it from his weathered palm.

"Thank you." She nodded.

"Just leave it how ya found it. Don't leave the motel for any reason after sundown. Keep the doors locked and the noise down. There's a radio on the table if ya need it. Keep it on and charged as that's how you'll know when the chopper's leavin'. Keep the electrical use to a minimum- we're running on generators here. I'll leave ya one of these, just in case." He handed over the AK and some ammunition. "Right. I think that's about it. Any questions?" He flipped the door to the truck bed shut as he turned to the group.

"So .. you don't need $200 a night..?" Amika pushed, not wanting her offer to be completely ignored.

"Money don't mean a thing these days. If I thought you had anything valuable, I might try a trade. But the state you're in- clearly not worth the effort," he replied as he got in the truck. "Ya'll have a safe night." With that he drove off, dust flying in his wake.

"How do you even still HAVE that thing?" Feo turned to her with disbelief.

"If you had as much money as I do, you'd want to have it too," she said with a smirk and a shrug, slipping it back in her pocket and bounced Aubrey in her arms. She couldn't hold a cell phone for longer than a month, but god forbid she lose her card during a zombie apocalypse. "Alright, stop gawking and let's get inside."

Dev just shook his head at her. Blair mimicked Dev at the same time but was glad some things hadn't changed. Farrah just rolled her eyes and led the way. She figured Aubrey must be awake for Amika to blatantly show off like that. That was usually the reason for the gold card's appearance.

"Where are we?" came Aubrey's hoarse murmur.

Sure enough. "I think you played your hand too early," Farrah teased Amika before leading the way to the rooms.

"What's she talking about?" Aubrey asked as Amika set her down.

"Nothing..." Amika sighed with small defeat and stepped away from her. "We made it to shelter. We're about to get into our rooms..."


	20. Chapter XX - Horizontal Monster Mash

Characters belong to us, everything else is copyright to Valve

Chapter XX - Horizontal Monster Mash

How were they going to sleep?

Amika sure as hell didn't want to be in the same room with Aubrey and Blair again, especially for a whole night. Farrah wouldn't be able to stand a night alone with Aubrey without shooting her. After talking to Blair about her feelings for Aubrey she was sure they wouldn't be able to share a room either.

Feo looked to Farrah, who had all the keys. He knew he'd be in a room with Dev and didn't bother to think much about the other pairings. It seemed obvious to him that Amika and Aubrey would wind up together and just hoped his room with Dev was the furthest one away from theirs.

As it was, Farrah took the first room for herself and Blair, giving Dev & Feo the key for the second, and Aubrey and Amika the key for the last. She had an idea what might be happening in Aubrey & Amika's room, and figured Blair above all deserved the room with the farthest distance from hearing.

"I'm gonna wash some of the.. stuff off of me and then I'll come knocking," Dev said to Farrah with a little grin.

"Well, I'll be waiting," Farrah replied, a twinkle in her eye as she followed Blair into the room and shut the door behind them. Internally, Feo was mourning his unhappy fate but was more interested in showering. If he could get that out of the way first, he could probably convince himself to sleep - hopefully before Amika and Aubrey got drunk or busy or both.

"A bed!" Amika opened the door to her room and left it open for Aubrey to come in. She flopped onto it and nuzzled into the mattress.

"Godddamnit!," he said, already in his room and able to hear Amika through the walls. "I'm showering first, Dev."

"Hit it. Gimme a kick when you're done." He sat down in a chair with the gun the man had offered in his lap and promptly dropped off to sleep.

"You know what that's good for..." Aubrey smiled mischievously as she followed Amika into the room. She plopped onto the bed next to Amika, leaned in close until their lips were millimeters apart, and whispered, "Sleeping." Then rolled over and closed her eyes. Amika released the breath that was caught in her throat from Aubrey being so close and then she rolled her eyes. Scooting closer to Aubrey a sly smirk spread across her full lips. After a couple moments Amika's arm reached out towards the other girl but soon she sighed and got up from the bed.

"I'll be right back babe." She knew what she had to do next and headed for Farrah and Blair's room.

"Mmmkay," came Aubrey's muffled response. She hadn't actually intended to fall asleep again, only to tease Amika. But as she snuggled into the pillow and blankets, it became clear her nap earlier had only been a momentary satiation. She drifted off to sleep once more.

"A shower! Farrah can you believe it!" Blair bounded into the room and hopped up onto one of the beds and started jumping on it.

"A shower?! Dibs!" Farrah cried, throwing her stuff aside and then heading to check it out. There were fresh towels set on the toilet seat with some mini bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and a couple bars of soap.

"Hurry up!" Blair laughed and allowed Farrah to hop in first.

"No promises!" Farrah called back, although she would be sure not to use up all of the hot water. There was a knock at the door and Blair went to open it. Her smile faltered as Amika was revealed on the other side. She took a step to the side to let her in while Farrah was busy in the shower. She knew what was coming..

"We need to talk..."

"No, we don't. It was pretty clear to me what was going on when you went off to the showers that night, still knowing that I was alive." Blair folded her arms across her chest and didn't bother to make eye contact with Amika.

"I'm sorry Blair, it's just... a lot happened." Amika ran a hand through her hair and she watched Blair take a seat on the bed nearest her.

"Yeah, and the moment you saw me alive instead of hugging me you should have just told me that there was already someone else. You could have at least given me that." Blair finally raised her glare to the other woman.

"It hadn't even really gotten that serious until around the time you showed up. I didn't hook up with her the moment I thought you were dead." Amika tried to soften the blow in any way she could.

"That doesn't make me feel any better. Look, just please say what you intended to the moment you started walking over here so you can get the hell away from me." Blair came to a stand.

"Blair... We need to break up." Amika continued to gaze at her. It clearly hurt her to be doing this but she knew it hurt Blair a lot more.

"Fine. Now get out." Blair shoved Amika out of the room, she didn't want her to see the tears as they formed. After slamming the door shut she turned and pressed her back against it. She slowly sank to the floor, but contained her crying to a mild sob. She kept telling herself that Amika wasn't worth the tears but that was a complete lie to herself.

Elsewhere, Feo was clean and nudged Dev to wake up and get into the shower. With a towel around his waist he went into the common area and looked for some healing supplies. He wasn't in as bad a state as Dev but he wasn't looking too pretty either.

He heard the door slam and watched Amika's walk of shame down the hall. Having already had a sense of what was going to happen, somehow, his eyes turned to Blair's door and sadly he walked over to it. He could hear her crying and tapped his knuckles on the door.

"Blair?"

"Not right now." Her voice was shaky and she didn't move from her station against the door. Feo sighed.

"Alright.. You know where to find me if you need me," he said, sympathetic but understanding. She was one of his best friends, after all. He turned his head to look down the hall towards Amika's room and only shook his head with a frustrated sigh then went back to looking for supplies to keep his body from falling apart.

Never had she enjoyed a shower so much. Farrah used nearly half the soap and shampoo, but she was damn clean. Oblivious to what had been going on in the other room; she had even begun to sing in her happiness. When she figured she'd spoiled herself enough, she shut the water off and toweled herself off. Her eyes fell to the state her clothes were in and she didn't relish the thought of putting the filthy things back on. She soaped them down in the sink and set them over the curtain rod to dry. Blair heard the shower cut off and she hastily got up and wiped her tears away. She didn't want Farrah to see her in such a sorry state and she itched to shower as well.

"It's all yours," Farrah called to Blair, shivering as she moved from the steamy bathroom to the dry air of the motel room. "Are there any clean clothes in here?" she asked, propping herself on the edge of the bed. Then she saw the expression on Blair's face. "Hey, what's the matter?" she asked, her maternal instincts kicking into gear.

"Nothing.. Well actually.." Blair had started for the showers but she felt that talking to Farrah would make her feel better. She was Amika's best friend but she also felt close to the cute blond. "Amika just broke up with me... I mean, I saw it coming with how she's been acting around Aubrey..." The tone in her voice was subtle but it only changed at the sound of Aubrey's name.

"Dammit Amika," Farrah cursed under her breath. Breaking up with Blair? Now? She sighed, having expected the break up to happen at some point, just not so soon. Not with the current situation. "God Blair. I'm so sorry," she replied, not sure of how to comfort the girl. Amika was like a sister to her, but she really liked Blair. And she definitely didn't deserve to have her heart broken like that, with Amika's new interested being shoved in her face. Why couldn't Cerina have made good on her promise? The one time she actually didn't succeed in murdering anyone...

"Not much we can do about it. I should just be happy that I'm even alive right now.." The sad tone in her voice said otherwise but she didn't want to dwell on it. She started for the showers before calling back to Farrah, "Let me know if you find clean clothes!"

"I'm going to do better than clothes. We are going to get wasted tonight. I promise," Farrah replied. For the moment she gave up on finding clothes in lieu of the more important treasure: booze. Figuring everyone else was occupied with showering and resting, and no one else seemed to be around, she deemed it safe enough. Taking the AK with her, she slung it over her shoulder and went off to search the other motel rooms.

By the time Feo made it back to the room, Dev was crawling out of the shower feeling immensely better. They were both wearing their towels around their waists and Feo winced at what he could see on his friend.

"Fuck, Dev, you're a mess."

"Should've seen me before I got out. I looked like a porcupine," he looked over his shoulder at his back which was freely bleeding in several places for all the debris he'd pulled out of it. "I think I got it all though.. Or most of it. Look. There are some clothes in here."

"Where'd these come from?" Feo stepped closer, trying to distract his concern for his friend.

"Box in the closet. I don't think any of these are going to fit." Dev frowned as he laid a shirt over his bare chest and while it normally would have fitted an average sized man, it looked like a kid shirt on him.

"I dunno, that Moomoo would look nice on you." Dev laughed quietly at Feo's comment and shook his head.

"Fuck you, man." Feo chuckled at the rebuttal but could see that Dev was not in a good state.

"C'mon, let's have Farrah take a look at you. It'll take less time to close all of these up if there are two people." Feo's worry returned and he nodded towards the first room.

"Alright. But take the sheets off the bed. We need to be covert." Dev grinned with an idea.

Amika came back into her room and closed the door. She blinked back a small wave of tears but climbed into bed with Aubrey. She laid there for a moment lost in her thoughts before getting back up and heading into the shower.

Aubrey woke up as she heard the shower come on. There was no way Amika was going to be bathing alone. She stripped and threw herself into the shower after her. Amika gave a surprised yelp and had to hold her arm back from accidentally punching Aubrey, though she played it off so Aubrey didn't notice. She laughed and it felt nice to wrap her arms around the shorter girl without repercussions. She took her time in kissing her, feeling like she could finally claim Aubrey as hers.

Amika came out of the shower feeling even more alive than when she was resurrected. She started to rummage through the room and found a suitcase. She flipped it open and started going through it. It looked like someone had left their things in a hurry because she found some clothes. However, as soon as Aubrey waltzed back into the room Amika scooped her up and tossed her onto the bed before climbing on top of her.

"Feels like we're newlyweds on our honeymoon!" Aubrey giggled as she guided Amika's head towards her own, pulling her into a deep kiss. Amika had to fight the urge to jokingly roll her eyes but kissed the girl beneath her passionately.

The door to Blair and Farrah's room opened and two "ghosts" moved into the room, shutting the door silently behind them. They split up and each of them inhabited a corner. Dev somehow managed to squish himself into the closet while Feo took up residence in a corner behind the bathroom door. They proceeded to stand stalk still, safely invisible with the help of their matching invisibility cloaks.

In the second to last room, Farrah found a cardboard box filled with an assortment of liquors and even a few cans of pop. "Jackpot!" she exclaimed happily to herself. Gazing around, it looked as if it was a storeroom for the motel at the moment. There were more towels, shampoo, some canned food, and an array of clothes. She grabbed a few pairs of pants and shirts that she thought might fit herself and Blair and tossed them into the box with the booze. The box was rather heavy with the multiple containers of liquor, but manageable. Making sure she had a good grip, she headed back to their room with her finds.

Kicking the door open, as her arms were full, Farrah stumbled in rather awkwardly. "We're in luck Blair!" she called loudly as she could hear the shower was still on, "Found booze and clothes! You can have first pick." Slightly out of breath from her adventure, she dumped the box onto the bed and adjusted the towel that had begun to slip. The water shut off soon after.

"Awesome!" Blair came into the room with a towel wrapped around her. She walked up next to Farrah to inspect the treasure she had uncovered.

"I am the ghost of Christmas Past and I command you to share the booooz- "

"The hell!?" Farrah cried as she saw the white figure emerge from the corner. Without pause, she ran forward with a flying kick and attacked, forgetting that her AK was strapped to her back. Blair cried in surprise but got out of Farrah's way immediately as she launched her attack.

"Mommy!" Dev couldn't keep himself from laughing. Farrah was attacking Feo, they were all in towels and he was stuck in the closet. How had he even managed to squish himself in there?

Farrah had straddled the figure on the ground and could barely hear its muffled cry between punches. "Waaaait... Feo?" she asked with surprise as she recognized the familiar voice.

"Damn it! These invisibility cloaks don't work!" Feo whined.

"Curse that Potter boy!," Dev replied, still covered in the sheet but now making visible attempts to extract himself from the closet.

"What were you guys thinking?!" Blair tried to yell in between her spurts of laughter. "Where's Dev?"

"I'm - eh! I'm stuck!" His arms, sheet covered, flailed out the closet door. His shoulders were too broad to allow him passage and his enormous muscles weren't helping.

"You're lucky I didn't shoot you first!" Farrah cried, remembering the AK strapped to her back. She climbed off Feo and wrapped her towel around her tightly, but couldn't help but laugh at the sight of Feo on the ground and Dev stuck in the closet.

"I dunno, it might have been less painful," Feo commented, chuckling. Blair was now on the floor laughing extremely hard, she still had a tight hold on her towel though.

"We're all naked for this.. why?!" She laughed even harder. Her comment made Dev start laughing all over again and even harder than before. It wasn't long before there were tears in his eyes - not that anyone could see them.

"I'm stuuuuck! Blaahahahahaaair," he laughed and wailed at the same time. Feo didn't even start to get up before he couldn't move any further, also laughing to the point that he wasn't even making noise any more.

"I'll save you!" Blair struck a Superman pose and then started to dash for Dev. She made sure her towel would stay around her she started to pull on his arms.

Farrah couldn't stop laughing, tears leaking out the corner of her eyes. When she was finally able to breath, she leaned over and ripped the sheet from off of Feo, then offered him a hand. "Hope I didn't cause you too much pain," she grinned sheepishly.

"Let's just pretend those bruises are from Infected," he said slyly as though they were going to keep a secret just between the two of them. Tearfully he accepted her help though he couldn't bring himself to pull on her. He got up but holding onto her hand and thinking about their height difference only made him laugh more. "Oh my god, the zombies didn't get me but the laughter will."

Eventually, Dev found the right angle to twist into so when Blair gave him a tug he practically exploded from the closet. Blair fell back and had to roll against the opposite wall so Dev wouldn't crush her. After shaking her head for a bit she walked up to the bed and grabbed some clothes that she could put on. She walked back into the bathroom to get dressed still giggling.

Dev fell to the floor, glad she moved out of the way and groaned as his back hit the ground but was still laughing despite the pain. The sheet he'd been wearing now sported some of his blood but it didn't make the situation any less laughable.

"Oh man..," he groaned, rolled to his front and picked himself up slowly.

"Glad you're out of the closet man. I just want you to know, I still love you and accept you as you are." Dev gave Feo a sarcastic chuckle and reached out to swat at him.

"How creative," he said, but he was grinning. Feo snickered.

"I'm gonna go get dressed too and you.. I'll wash your clothes while Farrah takes a look at your back but you're probably just gonna have to hang out in that sheet until your stuff is dry or tomorrow morning. I don't think anything here is big enough for you." He grabbed his sheet and headed back to his room to dress. When he started to wash Dev's clothes he thought about the fact that Farrah had found various supplies and went looking for some himself to find laundry detergent. His search rewarded him when he stumbled on the same supply room and in it was a pair of khaki pants he figured could fit his oversized friend as well as boxers for them both. He handed them off to Dev before taking his now stained sheet going to wash it along with the clothes they already had.

Dev thanked the smaller man and pulled the boxers on under his towel then the pants as well. His legs weren't too bad off, bruised but fairly uncut at least above his calf which he could expose by pulling up the pant leg as necessary. He sat down on a bed and waited for the girls to dress so Farrah could take a look at his injuries.

Blair came out fully dressed and with a smile on her face. She gestured towards the bathroom for Farrah as she sat down next to Dev. She smiled up at him and started to chuckled. Farrah grabbed her selection of clothes and went to change. Once Farrah was in the bathroom Blair brought his big meaty arm around her and leaned towards him.

"I am happy we are friends and that I met up with you guys." He looked down at her a little surprised but was more than happy to tighten his hold on her and bring her into a real but gentle hug. She'd become hugely more comfortable with him - he didn't even have a shirt on!

"Well good," he said with a smile. "Me too. We really missed you.. I really missed you," he said, leaning forward to give her a little peck on the forehead - in a completely friendly way. Blair giggled at his gesture.

"Amika broke up with me earlier... Everyone else probably knows, so I thought you should too." She opened up to him.

His face fell and he said, "For Aubrey? Do you want me to go kick their asses? It's the end of the world. The no-hitting-girls rule has pretty much dissolved." He looked serious but his tone was still soft as he mentally kicked himself for being the slowest out of the six of them.

"Yes, on all accounts," She laughed softly, "I'd wait if I were you though. They might be a little.. busy right now."

"Amika deserves to be cock blocked for this," he said pitilessly. Blair laughed at the image of Dev walking in on Amika and Aubrey. Just imagining the look on his face was priceless.

"I could bang on the wall off beat and start singing the Monster Mash through the wall." He grinned and raised an eyebrow, waiting for a response.

"Do it! Right now!" Blair stood up to look at him if he were serious. He got to his feet with a fist curled in determination.

"This ones for you, Blair!," he announced and headed down the hall. He went into his room and put his ear to the wall while he clued Feo in at a whisper. When he located what seemed to be the spot nearest the bed in the other room he thumped on the thin wall almost hard enough to break through it. Any time he made a rhythm he interrupted and did as he had promised.

_"I was working in the lab late one night_  
><em>When my eyes beheld an eerie sight<em>  
><em>For my monster from his slab began to rise<em>  
><em>And suddenly to my surprise!"<em> He sang it loudly yet in key and in the perfect voice to accentuate the weirdness of the lyrics.

_"He did the mash_  
><em>He did the monster mash<em>  
><em>The monster mash<em>  
><em>It was a graveyard smash<em>  
><em>He did the mash<em>  
><em>It caught on in a flash<em>  
><em>He did the mash<em>  
><em>He did the monster mash!"<em>

Feo was behind him laughing mutely again and gripping an already sore side. The noise didn't damper the activity going on on the other side of the wall one bit. Remembering Aubrey's vocal gift Amika knew exactly how to get them to back off.

"Aubrey, scream my name like you mean it." Amika requested breathily, but didn't stop kissing down her stomach heading for the spot that would help Aubrey's volume.

"My pleasure," Aubrey moaned as she began to scream Amika's name and pushed her voice to a new extreme. Dev paled and though he didn't stop thumping on the wall, he forgot the rest of the lyrics. Feo didn't stop laughing.


	21. Chapter XXI - Playbian

Characters belong to us, everything else is copyright to Valve

Chapter XXI - Playbian

"She's faking it, Amika!," Feo shouted. He might not have been able to beat Aubrey's volume but his tone was so different she was likely to hear it anyway. He patted Dev's shoulder comfortingly.

"You did your best but she's hopeless. Go on back and let Farrah take a look at your rippling musc- I mean, your injuries." He grinned. Dev sighed, shook his head but smiled a little and nodded before returning to Blair and Farrah's room.

Farrah came out of the bathroom and gathered the first aid supplies, gathering from their conversation that they were talking about Amika. "I think it's time to start drinking," she piped up, putting off healing Dev as he entertained Blair and poured the girl a shot. Blair giggled as she heard Dev's singing but paused to take the liquor down like a champ. She was by no means a drinker and would feel the effects fairly quickly.

"Oh no.." Blair snatched up the bottle from Farrah, able to hear Aubrey clearly despite the distance and walls between them.

Aubrey's voice shattering her eardrums, Farrah pulled another bottle out of the box and took a mouthful herself. "Cheers," she gestured to Blair, clinking bottles. She coughed a little after swallowing, having been awhile since she'd had anything so strong.

"I did my best, Blair!," he announced though she'd probably heard him too. Blair smiled up to him and was grateful for his attempt to cheer her up.

"It is appreciated! Here!" She handed him the bottle.

"Yes, thanks," he said, though she hadn't asked. He glanced at Farrah.

"This is gonna make me bleed more so we should get to this," he commented before he attached his mouth to the end of the bottle and sucked down as much of it as he could before the burning sensation in his throat overwhelmed him. He made a face at the flavor of the drink but was satisfied with the amount he'd put away in one go.

Farrah handed her bottle to Blair. She shook her head, as if trying to clear her mouth of the taste of vodka, then sat down on the edge of the bed. "Here, lay down so I can take a look." She opened up the first aid kit, drawing out the alcohol pads, a tweezer, and some bandages. He did as he was told with a grin and lie down on the bed with his back up and his legs twisting off the bed underneath him. He looked like a cat.

"You any good at stitches? Feo's improved since this shit started so if not that's okay.."

"I'm well on my way to being a surgeon. I think I'm pretty damn good at stitches," she quipped, "Now hold still so I can see what I've got here."

"Wow," he replied, impressed. He hadn't been moving in the first place so he didn't react much to the instructions.

"A surgeon, huh? That's like 12 years of school. I don't envy you," he chuckled and being that his stomach was completely empty, he started to feel the pleasant, tingling effects of the vodka.

Alcohol pad and tweezers in hand, she blew loose strands of her golden hair out of her eyes and gazed at his torn up back. "I hope you like laying on your stomach... It might be awhile before you're comfortable on your back again." Most of the injuries were surface scrapes, but a good handful would need stitches. She swabbed down the cuts, pulling some gravel and other unidentifiable material from the deeper wounds before digging out the thread and needles.

"Well.. I might need some help.. If you'd be the big spoon...," he started jokingly. Farrah tried to keep her gaze on the wounds, but it was distracting to have his shirtless back and arms displayed before her as they were. Damn it if she didn't find him attractive... And with a comment like that it was hard to keep her mind from wandering.

"I'll be back." Blair took another swig from the bottle before she headed over towards Feodore's room.

"'Kay," Dev responded, wincing at Farrah's digging around but other than some of his muscles flexing, he remained still.

Farrah noticed his wincing, "Sorry. I'm trying to be as gentle as I can. Almost done, just have to stitch you up."

"Don't worry about it. It's gonna hurt no matter what. It doesn't matter as long as it gets cleaned up and put back together, ya know?" Dev reassured her.

"Feeeeoooddorre!" Blair sang his name as she kicked on his door.

"Buh?," he said, leaning back to stick his head out of the bathroom door, still busy washing clothes by hand in the sink. "Come in?"

"Time for shots!" She opened his door and held the bottle up for him. She was already starting to feel the effects of the alcohol in her system.

"You found booze! C'mere. My hands are full," he said, intending for her to pour the alcohol into his mouth for him. She giggled as she tried to pour it into his mouth without spilling. Feo lowered himself a little by bending his knees and fought to keep from laughing. He tried to talk when he needed her to stop and straightened himself up so he could swallow and then breathe. THEN he laughed.

"Aw, god, vodka. At least it's not gin." He coughed a little and grinned at her.

"Thanks!" She nodded back to him enthusiastically.

"You should head back to our room when you're finished. Get drunk with me." Blair laughed before heading back to watch Farrah fixing up Dev.

"Yes, ma'am!," he said as she left though he finished up the clothes first, wrung them out and hung them on the shower rod to dry. He washed his hands, grabbed the pillows and a blanket from his room with Dev and threw them in the air and into their room before he closed the door.

"Alright, I think that should do it," Farrah replied after applying the last bandage.

"Private party go time!," Feo announced. Dev grinned and started to sit up. He looked down at Farrah.

"Thanks. Now.. how to pay you back?," he asked with a smile tempered by a little bit of shyness.

"I can think of a few ways," Farrah replied, a mischievous sparkle in her eyes. Dev grinned.

"Should I leave the room?" Blair giggled to herself as she swayed. She brought the bottle back up to her mouth for another tiny shot. Feo moved up next to her and when she'd taken a shot, he stretched out his hand for the bottle as well. She complied and handed him the bottle.

"I refuse!," Feo responded to Blair's question. "Too bad there isn't a radio around here.. Or, ya know, any non-zombie radio DJs.."

"Can you?," Dev asked a little more quietly, happily grinning at Feo and Blair but looking back to the cute, tiny female for an answer. Her impish expression was making him feel a little mischievous as well.

"Alright you two. Let's play a game or something! It's actually nice hanging out with all of my friends at once for a change." Blair left the bottle with Feodore and sat up on the bed where there was room.

"Ooh! Drinking games!," Feo cheered excitedly. "And no spin the bottle!," he said, pointing at Dev as though he were accusing him. Dev laughed and eased up.

"Fine, what're we gonna play?" He looked between the girls, both of them closer to Amika than he and Feo, expectant they could come up with more than a few because of the reckless girl.

"Truth or dare?" Farrah offered, she couldn't really think of any at the moment. Feo and Dev started to laugh for no apparent reason.

"God, do you guys _really _wanna play that with us?" Feo chuckled with raised eyebrows.

"Well I can't think of anything else... And no matter what we're gonna kick your asses anyways," Farrah looked to Blair for assistance. Dev shook his head. He and Feo somehow always made it a competition and their dares became elaborate.

"ABC Sex Game?" Farrah racked her brain for any games she could think of. Most of the time she forgot the games Amika taught her as she was usually half wasted by the time they started anyways.

"Uh.. what?," Dev asked with a grin, taking another swill from the bottle.

"We take turns coming up with sexually themed things starting from A-Z. If you can't think of anything, you have to drink," Farrah explained. This was a game she was particularly good at, as she was an expert at the human anatomy and health related vocabulary.

"Ooh, dirty girl," Dev teased. "Alright. I'm in!"

"That's what _he_ said!," Feo said, hoping someone caught the gay joke he'd made earlier and thought it was funny now too.

"Here we go.." Blair tapped on Feodore's hand silently requesting the bottle. She would need a shot before the game started. Feo slid her the bottle as Dev smacked him in the back of the head lightly.

"Alright, I'll go first," Farrah picked up her bottle and propped herself comfortably on the bed. "Anal."

Amika rolled her tongue all around Aubrey's sensitive skin while her hands busied themselves with the rest of her body. She smiled against her neck briefly as she marveled at the feel of the soft skin against her palms. She found the sweet spot on Aubrey's neck that drove the other girl crazy with want and sunk her teeth into it. Not too hard but enough to catch her attention. She ran her tongue over her love bite as Aubrey gasped and then wrapped her lips around it before sucking at it gently. Aubrey's body lit up in temperature and she arched her back into Amika's hand as it moved down her body.

Amika littered kisses and nips across her chest as Aubrey came to life with breathy moans. One of her hands found themselves clutching the back of Amika's head and the other moved down the other girls side only to claw its way back up. Amika groaned as she felt Aubrey's nails dig into her and she moved her head up from Aubrey's chest. Aubrey continued to grab at Amika as she felt her fingers dance down towards the dip between her hips.

She teased Aubrey's bottom lip with her teeth as her finger slipped inside the younger girl. Aubrey's fingers tightly curled around Amika's skin and hair from the sensation that erupted through her body. She opened her mouth to unleash a fiery moan but Amika's tongue found its way inside first. She drank up Aubrey's moans as she kissed her passionately. She slowly started to pull away from Aubrey's lips and was meet with whimpers of protest, though Aubrey had grabbed her hips to pull her even closer to her body.

While Amika was usually the dominant one in these situations, Aubrey was fighting for the position. She flipped Amika onto her back as she straddled her hips. She worked her lips and tongue down Amika's neck, desperate to taste her skin. Even with Blair only two rooms away it was apparent that Aubrey's sole goal was to erase the other girl from Amika's memory. She felt she was doing a damn good job of it too as she heard Amika moan her name _again_. Still on top, she started to make small circles against Amika with her hips. Aubrey's mouth made its way down her neck and past her chest. She made lazy circles with her tongue down Amika's toned stomach. Amika bit her lip with anticipation as Aubrey kissed past her belly button.

"Banana hammock!," Dev shouted as he continued the game, which spun him into more laughter. It was contagious. Feo started laughing so hard he forgot the word he was going to used.

"Damn it! Gimme tha damn bottle..."

"C now? Clitoris!" Farrah said the word like a song. Dev laughed and leaned towards her.

"I like this game..," he said a little breathlessly.

"Crying!.. wait, no! Cunt! I mean cunt!" Blair tried to take back her sudden outburst. Feo offered the bottle back to her.

"Nope! Nope! You take this bottle, right now!" He half scooted, half crawled to her and put one arm around her back while he lifted the bottle to her lips.

"Shot, shot, shot!," he chanted softly as though he were trying to cast a spell. Blair leaned towards him and let him give her the shot, much like she had done earlier. She surprised him and he laughed but he had to stop laughing because it took that much concentration to pour it into her mouth. He poured a tiny bit too much before he stopped and then started to laugh.

"Hahaha, don't sp- Don't spill!" Blair coughed a bit and some of the alcohol trickled down the side of her mouth. She quickly brought her hand up and wiped it from her mouth and on her chest where it dribbled. She looked to Feodore as she laughed. She felt a lurch in her stomach and went to retrieve a can of soda. He laughed with her and watched her bring back the soda.

"Oh my god, I'm so hungry, I could eat a zombie," he said, realizing it all of a sudden.

"I don't recommend it, they have a terrible flavor," Dev replied with seriousness. "But I feel ya, brother, is there any food?" He tried to stand up but apparently 6' 8" was a little too high at the moment and he fell back onto his butt as quickly as he'd risen.

"In that room down the hall," Feo said vaguely. "Barmaid! Go get us some!" Dev laughed, his head falling back as he did so then he tucked it forward with a grim expression.

"I'm on it." Feo watched him stand very slowly and head - not very gracefully - down the hall. Somehow, maybe because his stomach was driving or because he had an excellent sense of direction or because it was the only door open, Dev found the right room with ease and filled his arms with as much food as he could hold before heading back to the girls room, which was somehow a little more difficult to find than the storage room had been.

Amika left her bedroom in search for food and water at about the same time Dev was heading back. Her head turned to survey the hall and see where she should head off. She had no clue about storage rooms or anything, having been cooped up in her room the entire time. She had on boxers that she found and a large shirt that was only a little bit shorter than the boxers.

"Dev?" She noticed a rather large shadow stumbling about and it could only be her massive friend. Somehow, turning his head towards her required way more of his effort than it should have and he accidentally dropped everything he'd been carrying. His hands landed on either side of her - surprisingly quietly as his fingertips caught his weight and he looked at her, his face leaning closer to hers than he realized.

"Yes," he responded to his name in question form. "The answer is yes. ...I.. am.. Dev."

"Are you..?" Amika leaned forward a bit as well to get a whiff at the alcohol on his breath. She raised an eyebrow. He made a concerned expression and gave a little whimper as he looked deep into her eyes as though searching for an answer. Amika stared back at him, uncertain about what he was going to do. She had never seen him so serious and it concerned her.

"I.. I don't know!" Her accidental question made him doubt himself. Then he laughed as his brain caught up. He pushed himself away from the wall and sunk to his knees to pick up the food he'd dropped. When he stood again he tried to gather her in one arm, dropping a few things again as he did so.

"Alright, bye 'Mika," he said, looking down his chest at her. "I told Blair I'd beat you up," he whispered, "but I'll do it later, 'kay?" He sounded convinced he was doing her a favor. Amika just shook her head and smiled up at him.

"Love you Dev." Her arms came around the drunken giant, "Hey, where did you get that food from?"

"I love you too," he said in an almost pained tone. He squeezed her body to him tighter with his enormous arm and rested his cheek against her forehead before he planted one kiss, then two there and then replaced his cheek. Amika's smiled widened at his affection.

"Down there," he said when he realized she'd asked a question. "That one." He pointed but his arm moved from one side of the hall to the other, still passing over the open door but not staying there for long enough to be helpful if she wasn't looking. He dropped his arm and looked down with a frown as though wondering how the food had gotten on the floor again.

"Here." Amika bent down and picked up the food he dropped. She wasn't sure, considering her assumption of everyone's states, how she would be accepted into the room. She wanted to help Dev out though and she wouldn't be staying in there for longer than ten seconds.

She opened the door for him and had him stumble in before her. She set the food down where he did and then turned to leave the room. Blair quickly averted her gaze and simply ignored her for the time being. She had a good buzz going and didn't let Amika get to her. Dev didn't have the sense to thank her or really even realize that she had helped. Feo shut the door behind her and cheered due to the presence of food.

"What'd you get?!"

"I don't know. But I'm going to eat it!," he said, waving a pack of batteries at his friend without realizing what he had in his hand. Blair laughed at Dev.

"Look at that Farrah, if he eats those he can just keep going and going and going all night long," Blair laughed as she nudged Farrah with a pillow at the implications. Feo laughed, especially since Dev didn't realize what he was holding.

"You'll have to check for a switch. He might have a vibrate mode!," Feo wheezed, pink in the face from laughing though his dark skin made it a little hard to tell. Dev went back to rooting around in the box. He offered each of them something, though he kept giving Farrah packages of food. Feo found it hilarious that his bigger friend was more of a light weight than he was, even when they had food in them prior to drinking.

The comments were lost on Farrah as she staggered to her feet, the goodies from Dev falling to the floor. The sight of Amika awakened all the anger she felt about the Blair/Aubrey/Amika triangle. She took another long, three shot swig of booze and then tossed the empty bottle nowhere in particular. It burned like a flame down her throat and she started to cough uncontrollably before remembering her purpose.

"I'm gonnna... get ….. 'er!" Farrah yelled and raised her fist in the air as she staggered out of the room after Amika. Blair watched with raised eyebrows at Farrah's sudden outburst but was too stunned to move.

Amika was halfway down the hall towards her room before she caught up with her. "You playbian whoooooooore!" she cried and launched herself towards Amika.


	22. Chapter XXII - Almost Normal

Characters belong to us, everything else is copyright to Valve

Chapter XXII - Almost Normal

Dev and Feo both had their heads poked out the door with surprised expressions as they watched. Feo gasped at the insult.

"She came AT you!," he shouted.

"Playbian?" Amika turned with a baffled expression. She ignored Feodore then saw Farrah charging at her and cocked her head to the side.

"Yeah!" Farrah yelled, having missed Amika and colliding with the railing. "Yeah!" she pumped her fists again as she staggered to her feet. "Lesbian player!"

"Whoa!" Amika reached for her as she hit the railing. She didn't want her toppling over despite the angry aura she could feel from her best friend.

"Two... timing... trammmm!" Farrah cried in between breaths as she started shoving Amika backwards down the hall. "B...lair is a... nice person. Whattahell?"

Amika allowed herself to be pushed down the hall. She was afraid of what would happen if she fought back. Her eyes gazed down at Farrah's words, knowing she was right. "I don't.. What do you want from me Farrah?"

"M...m...m...make it, hic," Farrah paused as she started to hiccup, "Make it right!" Her body began to sway unstably as she stood still for a moment. "Drinking connnest! If I... when... you kill Aubrey! Hic, Date Blair!"

"Farrah, you already look like you've been having a drinking contest... and I don't want to kill Aubrey." She watched her swaying and hoped she wouldn't fall over.

"Ch... ch... icken! Break , hic, her then!" Farrah placed a palm on the nearby wall and tried to shake away the fog that enveloped her senses. "B-reak up with her! When you loooose!"

"Fine." Amika nodded, knowing she was going to win and wanting to get it over with. Though hopefully Farrah would get distracted with the other company to actually partake in it and Amika could just sneak off. She helped usher Farrah towards her room. Farrah stumbled into the room, pleased with herself. She curtsied as she entered and almost fell before collapsing onto the nearby bed. Blair laughed as Farrah fell onto the bed next to her. She leaned forward and ruffled Farrah's hair a bit, touched that she had stood up to Amika for her.

"I love... hic, you!" Farrah smiled widely and hugged Blair tightly, forgetting about her touch phobia. Blair shivered from the contact but with alcohol in her system and having already been hugged by Farrah she pushed down her phobia and she wrapped her arms around her friend.

"I love you too."

Amika just closed the door as Farrah stumbled in and hurried off to the storage room. She swiped some snacks and a couple bottles of water and pop. She opened the door to her room.

"Sorry, I ran into a bit of trouble.. but I found food." She started as she came into the room.

"It's alright," Aubrey replied from the bed. She was on her side but rolled over as Amika stepped in. "Look who I found!" she smiled and gestured to the half naked pilot lying next to her. "Threesome?"

"What the fuck!?" Amika cried as the food fell from her arms. When the hell did this guy have time to get into her room?!

"I brought booze!" the pilot murmured in a deep voice, gesturing to the alcohol on the bedstand. "Came to check on you all and this one invited me in. Said she was lonely and looking for some company. How could I refuse?" A sleazy smile lit up his features as he stroked Aubrey's neck. The two glasses next to the table and spill on the carpet suggested they had already started the booze without Amika.

Amika didn't say anything else and marched up to grab him by his throat. She ripped him from the bed and her fist met his face more than a couple times. She threw him towards the door and her anger filled eyes met Aubrey. Instead of taking out her feelings on the shorter girl like she should have done, she turned back to the pilot and jumped on him. Her knee on his chest kept him in place and he tried to yell as she punched him in his head, face, and throat. It was merciless and there was no sign that she was going to stop soon.

"God, you are so hot right now," Aubrey moaned, pulling Amika away from the pilot and creating her own assault, an assault on Amika's senses. "I love it when you get all jealous and angry. It turns me on."

Amika was about to push Aubrey away from her, but the other girl touched a certain spot on her neck. She couldn't help but crumble and let Aubrey shove her down onto the mattress, both girls bouncing from the force. Her shirt was ripped off of her in a matter of seconds.

"The hell is wrong with you?" The pilot cried, spitting up blood and teeth. The hopes of having his wildest dream come true had been brutally dashed. He scrambled to his feet before Amika could come after him again and limped from the room, clutching his most painful injuries.

They'd spent the better part of the last twenty or thirty minutes or more trying to keep Blair happy, drunk and distracted while eating. Both were feeling a little more sober and a lot better, having been absolutely starving before. Feo smiled over at Blair broadly.

"And then I said.. If you can stick the banana in the tailpipe _and_ set off the car alarm before they see you.. I'll buy you a bag of bing cherries, to sweeten the deal. And this numbnuts does it!" Feo pointed to Dev ungracefully.

"Competitive Truth or Dare. That's what it's about! Doing it!" Dev laughed too loudly. The beaten up pilot started banging on the other motel room doors, hoping someone would answer and help him. He finally got to the end of the hall and saw lights flickering behind the boarded windows. "Help!" he cried, pounding on the wooden frame, "Open up for chrissake!"

"I thought Feodore was gonna wet his pants- " Blair perked up from her spot on the bed but turned to look at Dev and Feodore at the sound at the door. Feo frowned and got up to open the door.

"What the?" The guy looked like a mess but when Feo looked around he didn't see any zombies tailing him.

"This woman... er... I was mugged!" he cried, barging through the doorway into the safety of the room. His tongue ran over the spot on his gums where his teeth used to be. "Fuck, is it bad?" he asked, opening his mouth so they could see the damage.

Farrah stood up on the edge of the bed so she could see better, her movements much more nimble now that the booze had settled in and mixed with some food, though she was still far from sober. "Oh my... Uhm... nah... it's not..." she tried to come up with something positive to say. She scratched her brow line, leaning further away from the man, as she continued to draw a blank. "...fuck."

"Whoa.." The man looked in really bad shape. Blair kept her distance, unsure of whether to believe his story. What if he had been attacked by a zombie and he was infected? Though his injuries looked more calculated and with weight in them. Feo started to laugh.

"Hahaha, I recognize that handiwork. It's practically got Amika's signature on it." He clapped. "Oh, bravo, big sis. Nice shots." He suddenly didn't feel as much pity for the man. He probably deserved at least a little bit of it. Blair became a little bit more interested at the mention of Amika's name. Dev unfurled his enormous body from the bed and went over to sling an arm around Feo's shoulders and lean towards the pilot. He tipped his head to look at him.

"Gave you the old throat-face-head one-two, one-two, huh? I remember the first time I saw that.. before you and Miela were dating," he said, jostling Feo's shoulder a bit. "Remember that guy that cat-called at her?" He chuckled, a sound that didn't at all reflect Dev's true character as it sounded pure evil. Feo also chuckled viciously.

"If she hadn't got to him first.. but by the time she was done all I could do was whistle in admiration, shake my head and walk away. Looks like you got out before she even made it halfway. You're still conscious, after all." Feo folded his arms as he rocked back on his heels.

"And he's not _choking_ on his teeth." Dev added.

"Mmhmm," Feo nodded. "You're a lucky guy!"

Farrah couldn't help but chuckle, "And he's still standing!" she reached forward, still standing on the bed, and patted him on the shoulder roughly. "Bravo man!"

"So, we don't help him?... isn't he the pilot?" Blair wasn't sure what to say or do. She did smile and laugh at Feodore and Dev as they reminisced about Amika's past. She still kept her distance. Having a stranger around and in her drunken state seemed to heighten her phobia even more.

"I know how to stitch, but I can't sew his teeth back in. There's not much we can do," Farrah shrugged. Not to mention, he probably did deserve whatever injuries he'd sustained. And she was still drunk. Any aid she provided would just as likely cause further injury.

"There are other rooms he can stay in here," Feo said, calming the crisis. "Just go get some rest," He suggested, gesturing the poor guy to the door.

"And rinse out your..," Dev said sympathetically, gesturing towards his mouth.

"Look, can't I just stay here awhile? What if sh-they come back for me?" he glanced around nervously, as if the walls were closing in on him. His head pounded and he really didn't want to run back into Amika for round two. He tried to reach for Farrah as if to cling to someone for support.

"Don't!" Blair wanted to stop him but didn't want to touch him.

"Hey!" Farrah cried as his slimy paw clutched her shoulder, causing her to tip off balance. Feo snarled and moved between the man and Blair. The pilot had exactly 2.5 seconds before Dev's iron fist closed around his shirt.

"Hey, get your own room. She's not interested in you and if you don't knock it off, she's gonna be a sweet dream compared to me." Dev's aggression and his grip only frightened him more and though his shirt was in Dev's hand he still had a hand on Farrah's shoulder.

"Whoa, buddy, hey," he started, accidentally bringing Farrah closer to himself out of sheer reaction. He was practically hugging the tiny woman to him without even realizing it and as he sputtered in fear he was dripping a combination of blood, bile and spit on her. Dev's temper was reaching its end. Feo put a hand on his friend's chest, trying to keep the peace and preserve the mood from earlier in the night.

"C'mon, buddy, take it easy. Let's just escort our _pilot_ to the door, nice and easy."

"Get off!" Farrah cried as he still hadn't released her. Her skin was positively crawling at the close proximity to the sleazy, slimeball of a man. She clawed out of his hold and shoved him back. He had opened his mouth to protest, and as he did so a hunk of vomit-filled saliva fell onto her shoulder. In disgusted rage, she screamed at him, reflexively spitting in his face. "Get away from me! And take a shower!" she yelled, climbing back onto the bed so that she loomed over him. She pointed her finger towards the door as if shooing a naughty animal. "Out! Go!"

Dev practically threw him at the door. If Feo hadn't moved fast enough to open it, the pilot might have gotten stuck to the door. Feo intervened, pushed Dev back and went after the man. He shut the door behind himself quietly and escorted the pilot out of the building. He shoved him out into the night.

"Take a walk," he snapped, just as disgusted. He watched with his arms crossed until he had stumbled out of sight, any pleas falling on deaf ear. Dev glared crossly at the door, his big chest moving in and out in broad motions for a while until he looked down at Blair, then further down to Farrah. Blair watched Feodore leave with the pilot and hoped this wouldn't ruin their chances in getting to safety. Her eyelids began to droop, the alcohol in her system weighing out the commotion. She yawned and started to lay down.

"You alright?," Dev asked, meaning both of them but his green gaze lingering on the shorter woman.

"Yea," Farrah replied back, looking for a napkin to wipe her shoulder off with, "Could probably use another shower though." She sighed and turned her gaze back to him, "What a weird night." He had to laugh.

"All things considered, this seems like the most normal night in a month. So I guess in that way it is weird.." Dev smiled warmly at her.

Feo stalked back in after a few minutes and shut the door again. "Alright, what's say we get some shut eye? Who knows how early we have to get back in the bird," he referred to the helicopter.

"Yea, I'm dead tired. I didn't sleep much on the ride.. And I found some toothbrushes.. apparently.." He picked up the pack and looked at them curiously, wondering when he had acquired them. Feo chuckled.

"I'll take one of those," Farrah said after she finished disinfecting her shoulder. She still didn't feel near as clean as she had after her shower but the prospect of a new toothbrush made her feel better. Dev handed her one.

"There are three.. So I guess you and Blair can have one and we'll share," he said, gesturing between himself and Feodore. Feo gave him a look for volunteering himself but Dev offered him the toothbrush - only to yank it away at the last second.

"Syke! Me first!" He went to brush his teeth with a tiny tube of toothpaste. He used soap to rinse it out before he gave it to his friend however.

"Ah! Minty fresh!," Dev said with a smile. "Should we push the beds together and have a slumber party?!"

"Why not!" Farrah laughed at the idea as she returned from brushing her teeth and washing her face.. "Only no pillow fights. I don't think my stomach can take it after all this drinking."

After helping push the bed over to the one Blair had already passed out in, Farrah climbed up and made herself cozy under the covers. Dev grinned and practically picked up the unoccupied bed so they could move it slowly and quietly against the other one. He watched Farrah scoot in and threw the blanket Feo had brought over Blair. He scooted her to one side gently and made sure she looked comfortable and combed the hair out of her face. Feo came out and laughed lightly at the set up and turned off the lights.

"I'm sleeping by Blair. You stay away from me. You..." He pointed at Dev and shook his head then moved into bed next to his unconscious friend.

"Whaat? You don't wanna sleep by me?" Dev asked with a grin.

"No!," Feo said sternly as though he were speaking to a disobedient pet. "Not like this. Like we normally do or bust. I hate waking up as the little spoon or worse - with you hugging me like I'm a freaking stuffed animal. I'm more manly than that." Dev chuckled.

"Usually we sleep using each others shoulders as pillows. Keeps us alert." Dev explained.

"And far enough apart." Feo pushed the point.

"Amika and I are the opposite. We sleep next to each other, someone's waking up with a black eye and a few broken bones. Consider yourself lucky that you only have to fear snuggling, Feo," Farrah laughed. Dev chuckled a little nervously.

"Well, Feo's gonna avoid me.. and you're gonna beat me up? Does that mean I _do_ have to hold you like a stuffed animal to protect my face?" His voice softened immensely as he started to get onto the bed, watching her as he moved and hoping he hadn't offended or irritated her - he just didn't know how else to put it.

Farrah laughed again, "Yeah, you might want to do that actually, for your own protection. I wouldn't want to have to give you anymore stitches in the morning."

"Well, if you're sure, then come here," he said, laying on his side since his back was a mess. He put it towards Feo and moved one arm towards Farrah and the other behind him. Feo gave him a secret low-five and then curled up only to stretch out a moment later and lay on his back with his arms behind his head. Blair continued to sleep on her side, facing away from the group.

"Oh, yea," Farrah hesitated, wondering if she should be getting so close to Dev. It wasn't like her to get so comfortable with a guy she knew so little. But, she reasoned with herself as she snuggled her back in against him, these weren't normal circumstances either. And maybe it was the liquor, or the end-of-the-world type scenario, but for once she just wanted to act without overthinking. Dev pulled her close against his enormous chest and cinched his hands around her low back, clasping his own wrist to keep his hands busy so as not to make her uncomfortable. He smiled down at her sleepily and started to relax. Sleep was coming over him when-

"You know what I miss?," Feo asked randomly. Dev groaned a little, then chuckled.

"Yea, I know what you miss," he referred to Miela. Feo grinned and a small gust of air escaped him.

"That too... But I miss washing clothes. I miss washing machines."

"I miss coffee shops.." Dev laughed a little as he looked down at Farrah and added, "And weekends."

"Mmm, I would love a hazelnut cappuccino right now," Farrah agreed, beginning to think about all the other things she missed, "And fresh fruit! Strawberries, mango, pineapple..."

"Tamarinds!," Feo added his favorite excitedly.

"Cherries..," Dev sobbed, and then spoke up again after a few moments of mournful silence. "I think I actually miss grocery shopping.."

"I miss suits."

"You would."

~

The man stumbled around after Feo had deposited him out of the building. He sighed and stopped a moment to catch his breath. He was on the way to his room when all of a sudden he was back upstairs. Then there was another flash and he was even further down the hall then he remembered and he was kneeling... His skin began to feel like it was on fire before it suddenly felt icy cold. What was happening to him?

Aubrey woke up to the sound of moaning. Rolling over groggily, she wrapped her arm around Amika's shoulders. "Not enough for you in the day? You gotta dream about me too?"

Amika turned to kiss her arm but didn't really wake up or move afterward. Her face was relaxed into a peaceful expression and it was clear she hadn't made a peep. Amika rarely made noise in her sleep. She was even less likely to do so now as she was totally tuckered out from finally unleashing her pent up feelings and lust onto Aubrey's body. She did stir a tiny bit when something thumped against their door.

"Did you hear something?" Aubrey shook Amika's shoulder, realizing the moaning hadn't been her sleeping partner as she'd originally thought. It was coming from the door. Grabbing a pistol from the bedside table, she padded barefoot to the curtained windows and peeked out.

"Hm?.. What's wrong?" Amika slowly came to life once her side became chilly without Aubrey's warm body against her. She sat up and leaned against her arm as she rubbed her eyes.

One of the writers dropped out, so that's all folks


End file.
